Top tennis player puts on game face

Some true competitors are hard to spot when they’re not in action. Even on the surface when initially meeting them, you may be surprised they’re able to aggressively excel as much as they do when they present such a welcoming and innocent demeanor. The high school sports world is full of these types of competitors and you can see the change take place as they step from non-playing surface to playing surface.

Park Hill junior Suzanne Barth is one of those athletes and it’s even more evident this season as she is working to not only return to the state tennis tournament’s championship match again, but to win that match after coming in second a year ago. Kirkwood’s Rachel Stuhlmann, who Barth lost to in consecutive sets (6-0, 6-0) last year, has graduated leaving Barth with the added motivation to claim what she had come so close to doing last year as a sophomore. Coach Rustin Reys doesn’t believe it’s a matter of ability, but mentality.

“She’s so talented that she just has to learn to use her weapons to the best of her ability,” Reys said. “If her game plan and approach is right, she can’t be beat.”

Asked what it was like to be selected as one of the team captains as a junior, Barth will respond humbly, but her coach says she is a natural selection based on her own work ethic. While she may be soft spoken in the hallways of Park Hill, Barth seems to become someone different when she steps onto the court for practice or a match.

“She’s very authoritative when it comes to leading the team and pushing herself hard,” Reys said. “She’s very competitive and wants to win 10-0 every match.”

“I don’t like losing,” Barth said of her approach to competing. “It’s important to stay mentally strong all day.

Park Hill lost its first conference meet in several years to Lee’s Summit West last week. Although Barth did not play, as a captain she knew how important it was to shake the loss off and set their sights on the post-season.

“We need to stay positive,” Barth said. “We lost the match earlier in the week, so we just need to stay together.”

Although bummed with a sore left wrist of late, Barth’s one more year of experience and practice could bring her back to the state tournament as a more mature player and her coaches believe it will be the way she handles adversity that could be the difference maker.

“She has all the skills to be a state champ because she has no shot that needs improvement,” Reys said. “If she can make good game decisions, she will do well.”