Thursday April 25, 2024 
AP ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
By Xander Michaels
~Scholar Athlete~
Emily Armlin
This week’s scholar athlete is Emily Armlin. Emily is a captain on the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team. Emily began playing tennis during her Freshman year, and she has loved the sport ever since. Emily’s favorite aspect of tennis is “being part of a really supportive and close team.” She says, “I love all the matches we get to play and the bus rides as a team.” Although Emily and the other girls are a team, they play their matches separately. This is her greatest challenge in the sport: “it can be hard in that you don’t really have anyone else’s help, you just have to rely on yourself. If you miss the ball, you don’t have a teammate there to hit it for you.” In order to prepare herself for her matches, Emily took tennis lessons, went to tennis camps, and lead captain’s practices over the Summer. Emily’s efforts were noticed as she was awarded the position of captain. She said, “it was really good to know that my hard work was paying off and that I was able to be a leader for my team.” Emily’s commitment is continued outside of her sport and into her education. Emily has maintained a GPA of 95 throughout her high school career. Along with her academic courses, Emily works hard in musical theater and dance. In addition, she is Vice President of the Averill Park Student Government and has earned the position of Senior class President of the National Honor Society. This past spring, Emily received academic achievement awards in chemistry, precalculus, and music theory at the underclassmen awards.
Emily is grateful for the impact her coaches, family, and teammates have had on her development as a player. “My coaches, Coach Minkler, Coach Abbatiello, and Coach Gaetani, taught me how to play, have always been very supportive, and have made tennis a really great experience for me. My family is always there to support me, and they always go to the tennis courts to practice with me before the season starts or before a match. I am also thankful for all of my teammates who have helped me learn how to play and have made this team as great as it is.”
In her future, Emily plans to go to college in pursuit of a degree in biotechnology or pharmacy. We all wish Emily the best as she begins her college career.