Allison McCann has one accomplishment left to achieve in her high school tennis career at Amherst Regional.
To be the best player in Massachusetts.
McCann will have her chance Saturday when she opens play at 9 a.m. in the state individual championship at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury.
“It would be a nice end to my high school career,” McCann said.
McCann will play Ashley Avery of Wellesley, a player whom she knows from USTA play. In last year’s championship, McCann lost to Emma Davis of Cohasset 6-4, 6-4.
“I haven’t seen (Avery) play in a year,” McCann said. “But I am good friends with her. She’s an aggressive player who hits it flat and hard. She goes for it. Especially with her forehand.”
According to tennisrecruiting.net, Avery is ranked seventh in the state and 13th in New England. She will attend UMass in the fall.
McCann is ranked first in the state and fourth in New England. McCann verbally committed to Dartmouth.
“Since I haven’t seen her play in a while I will play my game and adjust to her,” McCann said. “I need to make her move around and get aggressive if I need to.”
McCann and Avery have played on the same team and have played against each other during USTA endeavors.
“I’ve lost to her once,” McCann said. “I’ve gotten used to playing against my friends. It doesn’t change how I play.”
McCann said she will pick her spots to be aggressive, will not hesitate to come to the net and will go for winners if the opportunities present themselves.
Preparation for the match has been the same for McCann.
“I’ve just been playing a lot of tennis,” McCann said.
Conditioning will be important for McCann. If she beats Avery she will move on to the finals later in the day against the winner between Nashoba’s Jillian Winer (No. 6 state, No. 12 New England) and Burlington’s Ada Wiggins (No. 4, No. 10). The finals is expected to start around 12:30 p.m.
Gloria McCann, Allison’s mother and coach, took over for longtime coach CJ Holt this season. The approach has been the same from a coaching standpoint.
“No different than in past tournaments,” Gloria McCann said. “Playing a lot but also getting her rest. We have known (Avery) for many years. It should be a very competitive match.”
The last Amherst player to win the state title was Maya Hart in 2011.
