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06/03/2021 12:00 AMMegan Kell grew up playing field hockey in North Haven, but when she was in 8th grade, Megan decided that she wanted to test her mettle on the tennis court. Megan took a liking to tennis right away and has gone on to have a nice career as a member of the North Haven girls’ tennis team, serving as a senior captain and No. 1 doubles player this spring.
“I wanted to play a second sport. That was the one that interested me the most. I decided to try it out,” says Megan. “I definitely started liking it as soon as I started. When I got to the high school freshman year, I realized I definitely wanted to stay.”
Megan started taking tennis lessons in town as an 8th-grader and then signed up to play at the high school in her freshman year. Megan mostly spent her first season as a JV player, getting into a few varsity matches as a substitute. Megan enjoyed the environment on the tennis team and felt a similar vibe to her experience with the field hockey squad, making for a pretty seamless transition.
“It wasn’t a huge transition, but I wasn’t on a structured team before. But since I had one season playing a high school sport in field hockey, it was very similar. They were different sports, but the structure was the same,” Megan says. “It was definitely more fun playing on a team. There were more girls, more competition, and more people to play with every day.”
Megan held the same role on the tennis team as a sophomore and then saw her junior season get canceled due to COVID-19. While she was unable to compete last spring, Megan continued to work on her game and did everything she could to come back stronger as a senior. Megan spent time at North Haven Health & Racquet Club, working on various shots and the mechanics of the sport.
When she came back as a senior, Megan made the jump to a full-time varsity player at No. 1 doubles with fellow senior captain Nadia Kavgaci. Megan had predominantly been a singles player in her first two seasons with the team. However, Megan found she liked playing doubles and embraced the dynamic of she and Kavgaci being able to motivate each other on the court.
“I enjoy it. Singles is all on yourself. There’s no one else there,” says Megan. “It’s definitely nice to have a partner in doubles. If you make a mistake, there’s a chance they can help you out and recover. It makes it easier in a sense.”
In addition to being doubles partners, Megan and Kavgaci are also teaming up to lead North Haven as its senior captains this season. As a captain, Megan makes sure that she lends a hand to North Haven’s freshmen in any way she can, just like the seniors did for her when she first joined the team.
“It was awesome,” Megan says of being a captain. “Coming in as a freshman and now being able to help the new freshmen coming in as a senior is a really good role to be in.”
Head Coach Bob Migliorini feels quite pleased with how Megan had guided North Haven both on and off the court this year. Migliorini says that Megan’s leadership and overall play have proved crucial to the club’s success.
“During this season, Megan brought outstanding leadership and teamwork to the team as a co-captain,” says Migliorini. “She also bolstered our lineup being in the top doubles position and had an excellent season in that role.”
Megan continued to play field hockey for North Haven throughout her high school tenure. Like tennis, Megan started with field hockey when she was in middle school. Megan suited up at the forward position for North Haven and feels that playing both sports has allowed her to focus on similar skills and improve her overall abilities on the attack.
“As a forward, my job is to shoot, primarily. If you’re looking the wrong way, you’re going to miss. It’s the same thing in tennis,” says Megan. “There’s definitely things, like hand-eye coordination, that you can learn from both.”
After graduating from North Haven, Megan is going to attend the University of South Carolina, where she will pursue a degree in exercise science. Megan plans on playing intramural tennis at the school.
It was only a few years ago that Megan first picked up a tennis racquet. In a short amount of time, Megan fell in love with the sport and learned what it takes to thrive between the baselines as a key contributor for North Haven.
“It was an important part of my high school career. When you’re in season, you’re playing every day. It’s three months of your attention. Over my entire high school experience, it’s been a big role and something I’ll always remember,” Megan says. “It’s really nice to see the new freshmen starting the same way I did. I know they’ll have the same experiences I did. It’s nice looking back.”