Cookeville Freshman Louis Kim completed his first varsity tennis season last Thursday.
Kim became the only individual from Cookeville to qualify for TSSAA Individual Tournaments. He competed in the team state semifinals against Science Hill. Kim said he hopes to get farther next season.
“I feel like when I first started, I mean, the levels are beginner,” Kim said. “I kept playing, kept playing, and really just got better and better and better. Hopefully I can get better.”
Cookeville became one of three teams this season to send both boys and girls teams to state quarterfinals. They were the only one to also include an individual in state tennis tournaments. Kim said he hopes to go higher from here.
“I would start kind of almost because everyone convinced me to,” Kim said. “I mean I didn’t want to play tennis, and then the first time I played it, I just kept playing and playing and haven’t stopped.”
Kim said he was not sure how long he would keep playing tennis for at first.
“When I first started, I wasn’t really very good and I said I’m not gonna play this game,” Kim said. “And I’ve played every single day and got better.”
Kim played with his brother on the community and Tennessee Tech tennis courts. This season was Louis’ first on the Cookeville Cavaliers varsity team. Kim said playing with his friends helped him get better.
“He just doesn’t miss,” Cookeville Tennis Head Coach Brian Rohr said. “”He’s juts unbelievably mature and he can adversity that other people would buckle under.”
