By Tim Gayle
Montgomery Academy girls tennis coach Maddy Ethington has some simple advice for tennis players who have to face ace Gabby Barrera.
“Never think you’ve got Gabby Barrera beat until you see that ball bounce twice with your own eyes,” she said.
Pretty sound advice. The Montgomery Academy sophomore won 23 of her 24 singles matches in 2023 and 19 of her 21 doubles matches this past season on the way to becoming the No. 1 singles state champion in Class 7A and earning Capital City Conference Player of the Year honors from the area coaches.
“She puts in the work,” Ethington said. “She’s hitting balls sometimes four to five hours a day. She treats every ball like it’s the most important shot that has ever come on to her plate. Gabby’s going to run down every ball, she’s going to run down every shot, all the points that she’s able to pull out when the other person thinks they’ve got her beat.”
Barrera competes in a 2A program that was elevated to 7A by Competitive Balance Factor, but it actually enhanced her resume to face the No. 1 singles player from Hoover, Homewood, St. Paul’s Episcopal, Vestavia Hills, Florence and Auburn, among others, and emerge victorious. Her only loss came early in the season to Pippa Roy of Mountain Brook.
In doubles, she teamed with senior Jenna Chandler, who also made the all-CCC team, and won all but two matches this season, losing to Roy and teammate Annie Lacey, the eventual 6A state champs, and Claire and Camilla Bosman of Auburn in the 7A finals.
Barrera, Chandler and Mae Mae Voltz, the No. 3 singles state champion in Class 7A, were selected by area coaches to the all-Capital City Conference team, while their coach was selected as the Capital City Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to a third-place finish in the Class 7A state tournament.
“I think it’s a testament to the level of commitment from our community as a whole to tennis and being excellent at it,” Ethington said. “This starts when they’re little, going to clinics and watching mom and dad hit tennis balls. It’s a very invested community. We’re very lucky in that regard, just the level of support that we get to be able to push players.
“What is so tricky for us -- that perhaps an Auburn or a Vestavia doesn’t have to worry about -- is our kids can’t specialize. They have to be in speaking debate and in the choir and doing plays. We have such a small pool of players to pull from, so the ability to be able to compete with kids that can specialize and pick one thing to be excellent at is our greatest source of pride.”
ALL CAPITAL-CITY CONFERENCE
2023 GIRLS TENNIS TEAM
Gabby Barrera So. Montgomery Academy
Jenna Chandler Sr. Montgomery Academy
Margaret Roby Sr. Trinity
Aniston Skipworth So. Trinity
Reilly Taylor Jr. Saint James
Mae Mae Voltz Jr. Montgomery Academy
PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- Gabby Barrera, Montgomery Academy
COACH OF THE YEAR -- Maddy Ethington, Montgomery Academy
Honorable mention: Karly Bailey, Fr., Saint James; Kingsley Johns, Jr., Trinity; Wilson Samuels, Jr., Catholic; Kareena Singh, Sr., Montgomery Academy; Stella Sponseller, Jr., Saint James; Kensley Williamson, So., Trinity.