Sisters Drive WAHS Tennis Fortunes

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By Jerry Reid

Rosy Ix
Rosy Ix

Maddy and Rosy Ix are sisters on the move with the Warriors girls tennis team. Maddy’s the senior, with Rosy just one year behind. Storming through her last season, Maddy won her 100th victory on March 17 when the team topped Orange County 8-1.

Aided by their pursuit of excellence under the versatile and widely respected coach Ellen Markowitz, the team has that golden look of major success. They take nothing for granted, and hard work is accepted as essential for winning. As of spring break, they are undefeated (6-0 District) and will next play at Charlottesville on April 12. Savannah Diamond, Molly Servine, Lily Stoke, Sarah Candeto, Sarah Inman, Cate Roesch and sisters Hannah and Lauren Kearns are complementing the Ix girls.

While doing their own things off-court, the Ix sisters’ connection when the ball’s in play is something they both will miss when Maddy heads off to an as-yet-unannounced college.

Rosy said, “It’s great. She gives me a critique, but in a good way. She gives me very good constructive criticism because we’re related. We’re really close and we have a support system. I know I’m going to miss her when she’s gone.”

“I’m happy with my game,” said Maddy, “but there’s always room for improvement. . . . I definitely don’t want to just sit there and volley. I want to get the point over early.”

Rosy likes the challenge of playing with someone better, namely her sister. While Maddy feels that “we’re not extremely competitive with each other,” Rosy asserted that, “Maddy is the competitive one out of the two of us.”

Both know that tennis is a huge part of their high school careers, and they are thankful for the teammates, teachers and administrators who, as Maddy succinctly put it, give the feeling that “someone’s got your back.”

Maddy Ix
Maddy Ix

Meanwhile, Maddy has her sights set on a good education and doesn’t necessarily feel the need to let tennis rule her college years. For her, club level tennis could be good enough. But in a possibly telling aside after the interview, her coach said, “There’s not a D3 team out there that couldn’t use her.”

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