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06/24/2021 12:00 AMTaylor Morris admits that she wasn’t that interested in playing tennis at first, but after spending more time on the court, she realized that’s where she belongs. This year, Taylor became the No. 2 singles player for the North Haven girls’ tennis team as a junior in her first season on the squad.
Taylor started playing tennis at the Ridge Top Club when she was six. Taylor’s mother Kim signed her up to play. As she practiced with her mom and played the sport more, Taylor eventually came around on tennis.
“My mom made me do it at first. At first, I was kind of iffy about it. I didn’t know if I wanted to play. I really wasn’t competitive when I was younger,” Taylor says. “She made me get into it, and I started to like it. She hit with me every day. She gave me instructions on how to hit the ball.”
At the age of eight, Taylor began playing at the High Lane Club, where she started competing against other tennis players. Once she won her first match, Taylor felt that tennis clicked for her and that she was ready to dedicate herself to the sport.
“After I won my first match, I realized I truly loved the sport,” says Taylor. “If I didn’t have that experience, I don’t know how things would have gone.”
After attending The Foote School in New Haven as a freshman, Taylor transferred to North Haven High School in her sophomore year. Heading into her junior year, she decided to join the girls’ tennis team. Taylor had played tennis with several girls on the club as a youngster and felt that competing for North Haven would be a meaningful experience.
As she started her first campaign with North Haven, Taylor and her teammates weren’t sure what to expect this spring. However, as the season went on, everyone on the team meshed together, and Taylor feels that type of unity boosted their confidence.
“At first, we had no idea how the season was going to go. Half of our lineup was new. We had our doubts,” Taylor says. “But as the season went along, we started to love practice. As we started winning matches, our team felt more confident and calm.”
Taylor spent the entire season playing No. 2 doubles for North Haven, finishing the year with a record of 17-4. Taylor’s friend Rachel Petry, a program alum, gave her some advice about what it’s like to play tennis at the varsity level. While she was nervous at first, Taylor received a great deal of support from her teammates that helped her feel more comfortable on the court.
“I was really scared. I didn’t know who I would really go up against. Rachel told me how hard it was, and it got me really nervous, especially being a newcomer,” says Taylor. “As more and more matches went on, I felt more and more confident. By the end of the year, everyone was cheering for everyone. It just raised my confidence level knowing everyone and cheering for each other.”
After going 9-7 in the regular season and then losing in the first round of SCCs, North Haven competed in the Class L State Tournament as the No. 15 seed. North Haven advanced to the semifinals after earning victories over Bristol Central, Woodstock Academy, and Guilford in the first three rounds of the draw, after which the team lost to Avon in the semifinals. Taylor won all four of her matches in states, including a 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 victory when North Haven defeated Guilford by a 4-3 score in the quarterfinal round.
“We tried to make it a fun experience. We didn’t know if we were going to win or not. We played as hard as we possibly could,” Taylor says of playing in states. “I did not want to lose it for them. I pushed forward and tried to play the game I was playing.”
Alongside tennis, Taylor is also a softball player. Since both sports are played during the same season, Taylor competes for North Haven’s rec softball team. Taylor has been playing softball since she was eight and feels that participating in each sport works to her advantage on both the hardcourt and the diamond.
“Both sports use your arms. Base running and playing the baseline helps your legs,” says Taylor. “Both sports connect and complement each other.”
As she looks ahead to her senior year, Taylor wants to continue improving her footwork in order to help North Haven go on another successful run in 2022. Looking back at her first season with the team, Taylor appreciates that she formed bonds with a collection of teammates who made the experience “100 percent better” both on and off the court.
Initially, Taylor didn’t think that tennis would be the right sport for her. Now, every time she steps between the baselines, Taylor is aiming to take home a win for North Haven.
“Playing singles, I just love the feeling of winning. It feels like such a big achievement,” Taylor says. “It just makes me want to win more and more.”