Proconian introduces a new column where varsity baseball athlete Tyler Tachman takes on other Chapel Hill athletes at their own sport. In this first edition, he takes on Gabby Kmiec, the top singles player for the Chapel Hill women’s tennis team.
I walked into this challenge knowing that it would be tough to hold my own. Not only was I playing one of the best tennis players in the school, but I also hadn’t picked up a tennis racket in over a year. Senior captain Gabby Kmiec is a four-year varsity player with a 12-3 singles record this year. The competition was simple: each contestant gets ten serves where the speed and result of the shot are recorded.
I envisioned myself toeing the service line just like tennis great Rafael Nadal. No one has ever compared me to Rafa, but in my opinion, the similarities jump right off of the page. Rafa is left-handed, I’m left-handed. He’s from Spain, I take Spanish III. He has won 16 Grand Slams, I’ve had a chance to hit a grand slam… You get the point—we’re pretty much the same player. However, it felt more like a Michael Jordan (Kmiec) vs. Lavar Ball (Tyler) type of matchup than a Nadal vs. Federer.
My professional tennis daydream came to a screeching halt when I missed one of my warm-up serves, sending it whizzing past and almost taking out my journalism teacher, Stephen Head, who, I didn’t want to hurt, as he was recently relieved of wearing a sling after he injured his shoulder. The main idea is: I had no control over my serves.
Kmiec elected to serve first. She knocked three of ten into the box at an average speed of 82 miles per hour (MPH). The average women’s professional serve registers at 90-100 MPH. Then it was my turn. I bounced the ball twice, twirled my racket around three times and heard the crowd roar as I launched the ball into the bottom of the net. After ten serves, I managed to match Kmiec’s three serves and just missed the box with one of 89 MPH.
After a good serving competition, we played three games of singles. Let’s just say I won a couple of points in the 3-0 loss.
After two competitions, the first publication of “Tyler Takes On” came to a successful end, and I learned that if you want to lose, just challenge Gabby to a tennis match. Gabby Kmiec proceeded to the individual State Championship. I will pass on challenging other players such as Gabby Kmiec’s sister, Gracie Kmiec, and Lauren Bolzan who both advanced to the doubles State Championships. I’m sure a match with Rhea Arora and Cameron Pehlivanzade wouldn’t go well for me either as they both advanced to regionals in October.
