Whitten Is Figuring On Tennis And Math At Whitman College

If there’s a correlation between the trajectory of a tennis shot and parabolic curve, Leslie Whitten doesn’t recognize it.

“Maybe you have to do a little geometry,” Whitten said.

But the University High senior is parlaying her considerable abilities in both tennis and mathematics into a college education.

Next fall, the three-year Titan tennis player and a school valedictorian will attend Whitman College to play tennis and major in a math-related field.

She chose academically-stringent Whitman over the University of Washington because it is a smaller school and she could play tennis there for sure.

This weekend’s State AAA tournament in Tacoma marks the third straight year Whitten has qualified for state.

Since ascending to U-Hi’s number one girls singles position early in her sophomore season, there’s little Whitten hasn’t accomplished.

The math on the court adds up to a 57-15 career record heading into this weekend, and two top 12 state finishes.

Whitten is an Inland Empire Tennis champion and runnerup, has won one regional title and finished second twice, and she has finished second in district all three years.

“I have so much respect for her, the way she handles herself,” said first-year coach Trisha Roeber, who teaches Whitten in Spanish class as well as coaching her on the tennis court. “She’s the most well-rounded player and so strong. I’ve never seen anyone hustle like her,” said Roeber.

About the only thing Whitten hasn’t done is figure out how to beat Mead’s Amy Fong.

Fong has been responsible for nearly half of Whitten’s career losses, seven in nine meetings.

‘You have to try and keep it on her backhand side,” said Whitten, “return serves and keep it in. She has a good forehand.”

However, in this case, if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. Fong and Whitten will be college teammates next fall.

“I didn’t know that until a couple of weeks ago,” said Whitten. “She said she might go there, but this is kind of surprising.”

Whitten began playing tennis with her family as a youngster. Her brother Ty, who was a state qualifying distance runner, also was proficient at tennis.

“He decided running was for him,” said Whitten, who tried cross country as a freshman. “I’d also been playing volleyball and decided I liked it better.”

She considers volleyball and tennis compatible in the way a player must react and she played varsity volleyball last fall. But tennis is her forte.

“I like how you go against another individual,” she said. “It’s not a team thing.”

Her strength is her backhand. Working with area tennis standout Kent Brennan, she’s changed her forehand and is still adjusting to a straight-line shot.

“It’s better,” she said. “The ball was really spinning and I couldn’t get any power on it.”

Whitten knows she has to attack the net better, rather than be content with ground strokes and her baseline game.

The record shows, however, that after three years as University’s ace, Whitten will be tough to replace.

“I’ll miss her very much,” said Roeber. “She’s a silent leader and was voted the team MVP. Everyone on the team respects her, as I do, as a player and a person.”

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