HS TENNIS: Riverside's Ghigiarelli earns walk-on opportunity at the University of Arizona
Aug. 13—Karissa Ghigiarelli never gave up on her tennis dream.
Already committed to attending the University of Arizona and told she needed to prove herself, the four-time Times-Tribune Girls Tennis Player of the Year earned a walk-on opportunity to play for the NCAA Division I program this week after an impressive performance at a hard-court tournament in San Diego, California.
Ghigiarelli, 18, who was also the 2019-20 Times-Tribune Female Athlete of the Year, reports to Arizona on Monday.
"Honestly, it was very difficult at times," Ghigiarelli said. "It was hard not to give up. I did take some time off early in the summer to regroup. Then, I worked out and played in the tournament in San Diego just to see how it went and to know that if it was over, I would go out with no regrets.
"I am beyond words about this opportunity."
Ghigiarelli, who won the 2019 PIAA Class 2A singles championship, is the most successful girl player in Lackawanna League history.
In four years representing Riverside as a cyber-school student, she reached the state quarterfinals as a freshman, won the final as a sophomore, and won a silver medal last fall.
She finished her high school career with a record of 88-2, with both losses coming in the state tournament.
In four championship seasons, Ghigiarelli had a record of 20-0 in the District 2 Class 2A singles tournament, and she surrendered a total of nine games in her victories.
She ended her career as the No. 3 ranked player in the state, No. 20 in the Mid-Atlantic and No. 123 in the country by tennisrecruiting.net for her graduating class.
She had some recruiting interest from Penn State, but had her heart set on attending Arizona, which she visited while playing on the summer tours throughout her career.
In late April, she committed to Arizona for academics. However, coach Ryan Stotland honestly explained to Ghigiarelli that he needed to see more, especially against stronger competition.
She played at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls' 16 and 18 National Championships at the Barnes Tennis Center last week. Ghigiarelli competed with poise, grit, and a determined fight that caught his attention.
Ghigiarelli lost her first-round match to Kenna Erickson of Texas, 6-3, 6-2. Then, she rebounded to post two wins in the consolation round. She beat Molly Evans, 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 in the rally tiebreaker, and defeated Elise Wong, 2-6, 6-4, 10-0, before falling to Isabella Hu, 6-1, 6-3.
"The coach told me he wanted to meet with me after my matches," Ghigiarelli said. "I fought back from being down a set and won both matches. He told me that he thought my greatest asset was that I would never give up. He really felt my attitude and my positivity would be good and he offered me a spot as the 13th player.
"I am so excited. I am actually beyond excited. I am happy that I stuck with it and kept working. I couldn't have done it without my coach (Todd Kane) and my parents (Chad and Christy) and all of my friends who kept encouraging me."
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on Twitter
