Lily Muir didn’t reach her ultimate goal of becoming first singles for the Robbinsville High girls’ tennis team, but she certainly knew how to make the best of the situation.
The sophomore was unable to defeat junior Richa Mandrekar in the preseason stepladder match to decide each flight, thus she became the Ravens second singles player for the second straight year.
As a freshman, Muir had some highs and lows en route to a 6-6 season. This year, Muir took it to another level. With three dual matches left in the season, Lily had a 11-4 record, qualified for the NJSIAA State Singles Tournament as a wild card, and earned a No. 5 seed in the Mercer County Tournament.
“I knew it would be a challenge against some of the schools, but I am really surprised at how well I’m doing this season,” Muir said during the season’s final week. “I didn’t really set any goals. I just wanted to do my best, so even if I lost the matches I knew I tried my hardest. That’s the most I can ask for.”
Aside from not earning first singles, her biggest disappointment came in the MCT. Muir opened with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Princeton’s Helen Bennett. In the quarterfinals she took on Steinert’s Lucy Taffner, who the Raven had beaten in a three-set tiebreaker earlier in the year. Muir lost the first set 6-0, but was winning the second 4-3 before she began to severely cramp up.
Putting the health of his player over a chance to move on, Robbinsville coach Canel Turkdogan ended the match as Muir retired with an injury.
As is usually the case in such a situation, the coach wisely took the cautious approach while the player was all about gutting it out.
“I got cramps, and I wanted to keep going but my coach said that wasn’t the best idea,” Muir said. “I had just beaten her the week before. It was very disappointing. I had a rough first set against her, but the second set I was coming back, I knew I could come back and win.”
If that was the low point of the season, the high point was definitely qualifying for the state tournament, which is a rare feat for second singles players. It was a quick trip but a good one for Muir, who fell to Pascack Hills’ Ruoya He, 6-4, 6-2.
“It was just a really cool experience to know I qualified,” she said. “The girl I played was really good, but I played really well. I’m proud of qualifying, even if I did lose.”
Not to mention, it served as a nice learning experience.
“I got to watch some of the players, and they were all really good,” Muir said. “I got to take away some of their skills and the way that they play.”
‘I’m trying not to think about losing and just do my best. Usually, it comes out pretty good.’
Turkdogan felt the one thing holding Muir back from being first singles this year was her consistency, but the coach feels she brings a strong game to the court.
“She would be number one on other teams,” he said. “She has a fantastic forehand and she really puts in a lot of effort every time she goes on to the court. And she’s a fighter. She doesn’t give up.”
Muir does not come from a tennis playing family, but at age 6 she began trying numerous sports, including softball, soccer, lacrosse and basketball. Although she lasted five years in softball, none of those sports sparked Muir’s interest like tennis. She went from taking lessons for several years, to entering her first USTA Tournament at 12-years-old.
“I got past the first round in that one, and then I ended up playing the first seed and she was really good,” Muir said. “But it was a really good experience for my first tournament.”
Muir has continued with USTA and currently has 20 trophies adorning her bedroom. Five are for winning championships, 13 are for second-place finishes and the other two are individual achievement awards.
Turkdogan feels that one thing Muir needs to work on is, becoming less frustrated when an opponent lapses into a boring long volley in which they try to wear down Muir and never attempt a winning shot.
“But, she’s able to turn things around quickly, once she gets that motivation,” he added.
Muir’s strategy is to hit from the baseline, and when a short ball comes over the net she will come in to try and finish off the point. She agreed with her coach that she tends to get overzealous when those opportunities don’t present themselves.
“I usually have a hard time adjusting,” she said. “I’m usually the one to change the pace. That sometimes leads me to getting impatient and doing too much and losing too much. That’s something I’ve been working on. Just play the pace of your opponent.”
One thing she seems to have a handle on, is not getting upset at her own mistakes.
“She stays focused,” Turkdogan said. “It won’t matter if she loses a point or not, she’ll still go for that shot again. She won’t back down.”
Muir said that is something else she has worked on this season, saying, “I want to try and move on after something bad. If I get frustrated, I’m only gonna get worse from there.”
In the grand scheme, however, she has only gotten better. Muir sees a big difference in her play as opposed to last year.
“This season I feel like I have much better mental game,” she said. “As a freshman I’d always be nervous and sometimes that got the best of me. This year I’m trying not to think about losing and just think about doing my best. Usually it comes out pretty good.”
Muir is anxious to return for her junior year and will again set her sights on the top flight. If she succeeds, Muir knows the competition will be a huge leap and wins will be much tougher to get. But she would rather lose to tougher competition than defeat players of a lesser caliber.
“Even if I don’t win all my matches,” she said, “it will still make me better from playing people that are better than me.”
It’s what Muir does—make the best of any situation.
Robbinsville High School sophomore Lily Muir hits a shot during a match at Lawrence High Oct. 6, 2017. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.),
