Profile: Huron’s Andy Andea serves up a strong junior season on the courts
The way Andy Andea approaches the game of tennis is one of the reasons why he’s found so much success on the court. The Huron player focuses on what he can focus on and doesn’t let things he can’t control, control his emotions or demeanor.
“The mental side of tennis is very important,” Andea says. “I deal with it by just trying to play my game and give my best effort without worrying about winning or losing too much.”
Andea wins a lot more than he loses by just playing his game.
Ann Arbor sent all three teams to the MHSAA Division 1 State Finals this past tennis season at Kalamazoo College/WMU and two netted top-six finishes in a very competitive field. Troy finished first with 30 points followed by Bloomfield Hills (26), Northville (23) and Novi (21).
Pioneer finished with 17 points and finished fifth while Huron scored 12 points and placed sixth. Skyline finished with six points and tied for 13th place.
At one singles, both Andea and Pioneer’s Isaac Herrenkohl reached the D-1 quarterfinals. Andea, a junior, won his first two matches before falling to Bloomfield Hills’ Noah Roslin 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Andea, only a junior, says there is some added pressure playing No. 1 singles.
“I definitely feel more pressure playing one singles since I have tougher matches and I have to be a leader on the team,” he says. “I try to cope with it by just focusing on my game and intensity in matches and not on winning or losing.”
Andea played two singles as both a freshman and sophomore.
“My first year was tough because I was a lot younger than everyone but my sophomore year I did well,” he said.
Andea first started playing tennis seriously when he was around 9 years old. “I think the part I liked the most was playing by myself and having to figure out a way to win on my own,” he says. “My main strengths now are my forehand and speed. Some things I need to work on are my backhand and serve.”
Andy, 16, is the son of Laura and Doru Andea. He nets a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and enjoys skiing and playing chess.
“I want to be able to play tennis in college after high school,” he says. “I haven’t decided on a school yet but I’ve been looking at a lot of D3 or lower D1 schools with my parents.”
