Quinlyn Mack needed a break.
With everything going on at this time last year, Mack wasn’t up for competing in the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2020 WIAA girls tennis season. That wasn’t an easy decision for the two-time state qualifier who had been Sauk Prairie’s No. 1 singles player since stepping into high school.
“I just thought that sitting out last fall was the best decision for myself and my mental health,” Mack said Sunday. “I’ve been playing tennis for a good portion of my life, and I haven’t ever really taken any long breaks from it before. But I felt a little burnt out and didn’t think I would have played very well if I did play.”
The break did what Mack hoped, and she felt ready for one more go-around with her Sauk Prairie teammates. Therefore, Mack returned to in-person school, stepped back into her No. 1 singles role, quickly reached double-digit wins, and celebrated Senior Night alongside her classmates — Lauren Frey, Faith Holler, Devin O'Connor, Avery Leigh, Lexi Chrisler, Molly Diske, Riley Breunig and Ava Putnam — during Thursday’s 5-2 dual-meet win over Oregon.
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“I’ve really been enjoying being back on the team,” said Mack, who picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win over Oregon's Ella Peotter. “It’s been a little tough getting used to going to in-person school again, just because I haven’t done it in a while. Overall though, it’s been nice having things get back to normal at least a little bit.”
“For me, personally, it brings back a sense of normalcy,” Sauk Prairie coach Heather Slosarek said of having Mack back in the program. “Having been the head coach for four years, she and I have been on this high school tennis journey together. I highly respected her decision to put her academics first last year, but we sincerely missed her presence on the team. She provides a sense of stability to the team with her reliability in her role playing No. 1 singles, her ability to impart knowledge and guidance to her teammates and her enthusiastic and infectious love of the game.”
Mack’s normal as a member of the Sauk Prairie tennis team has been pretty impressive. She’s two-for-two in qualifying for the WIAA individual state meet in her career, making the trip to Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison as a freshman and sophomore.
Mack joined then-seniors Taylor Breininger and Camryn Ballweg as Sauk Prairie qualifiers in 2018, becoming the first Eagles to compete at state since 2003. Mack dropped her first match — a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Wausau West’s Natasha Bailey — to finish the season with a 14-8 record.
Mack followed that up by going to Madison by herself in a sophomore season that saw her go 14-9. A special qualifier, Mack claimed a 6-1, 6-1 win over Westosha Central’s Tristin Jantz in October 2019, before suffering a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Eau Claire Memorial’s Haya Donin in the round of 32.
Sitting out last season prevented Mack from making it three state trips in a row. But it didn’t prevent her from playing.
“I didn’t really take that much of a break. At the beginning of quarantine, I didn’t play very much. The only times I played were just with my dad or my brother, and I was just playing once or twice a week,” said Mack of her dad, former Sauk Prairie boys tennis coach Sam Mack, and brother, Kelby, who won a state doubles title alongside Noah Wankerl in 2019.
Eventually, Wisconsin’s stay-at-home orders became less stringent, organized sports returned and Mack supplemented the family matches by taking lessons, attending camps and competing in U.S. Tennis Association tournaments.
Mack loves tennis, and she was pleased to find a number of opportunities to get on a court. However, she said the team atmosphere that high school tennis provides isn’t something that other forms of the sport offer.
“It feels good being in a team environment again, it is very different from other tennis opportunities that I get throughout the year,” Mack said. “When I go to tournaments outside of the high school season, I’m just by myself, there’s no one cheering and it’s a very different environment. Being on a team motivates me to do better sometimes, because I’m not just playing for myself.”
The Eagles welcomed her back with open arms, and she has taken on a leadership role after the Sauk Prairie program graduated 21 players from last year. With Mack back on the roster, there are still only three members of the 2021-22 team that entered the season with previous varsity tennis experience.
“It just wouldn’t have been the same to come back this year without her in our lineup,” Slosarek said. “She understands the technical aspects of the game and makes an effort to share that knowledge with her teammates, some of which have taken up tennis just recently and are learning about the sport. Within our team dynamics, she serves as a mentor to younger players and leads through the example she sets each time she steps out on the court. Whether her opponent is a former state qualifier or a player new to tennis, she approaches each match with conviction — an attribute that piques the interest of other players.
“Above all, Quinlyn is unapologetically herself. She has always been authentic and, in doing so, models to others how being confident and believing in one’s self opens up many doors to new experiences and possibilities.”
Leadership abilities aren’t the only thing Mack brought back with her this season. Continuing to play through her year off allowed her to return to the court with a more diverse skill set.
“My game has become much more well-rounded than when I was an underclassman,” Mack said. “I think that I’ve added a lot more variety to my game, and I have a lot more shots at my disposal now than I did as an underclassman. I also think that my serve has improved, mainly in its consistency.”
“Quinlyn has the perfect combination of innate ability and competitive drive,” Slosarek said. “She is a tennis connoisseur. She watches professional tennis, plays all year round, seeks out challenging opponents, and makes adjustments to continue to build her tennis toolbox. Quinlyn rarely settles and always looks for ways to improve her game. Throughout her high school career, I have found her to become coachable and strategic in her approach to matches. As a young tennis player, she concentrated on making the big shots and playing to her inherent strengths. As she has grown, she has developed more aspects of her game, understands when and how to adjust her game plan to beat the opponent in front of her, and takes time to talk through strategy.”
When it’s all clicking, Mack likes “when I can switch up the pace or spin of the ball and move my opponent around the court. I also rely on my serve a lot, it’s always been a weapon for me, at least when it goes in.”
She’s brought that mix onto the court in a senior season that’s going by quickly. With the WIAA regular season lasting little more than a month, Mack’s final dual meet is set for Sept. 20 at Monroe, while the Badger West Conference tournament Sept. 25 will kick off a string of postseason events that end at state in mid-October. She’s looking to get the most out of each event.
“I’m just trying to enjoy my last year of high school and my last high school tennis season,” said Mack, who says she isn’t ready to be done with tennis and hopes to play in college. “I’m trying to play as well as I can, and get the best results I can. But I mainly just want to have a good time.”
That’s what Slosarek is hoping Mack and her classmates get out of their final season with the program. With Senior Night behind them, the seniors are on the verge of capping a four-year run that their coach has enjoyed being part of.
“I hope they leave the tennis program with a great sense of pride — in their personal growth, in their team, in the program and in how they represented our school,” Slosarek said. “That freshman season, I told many of them how much potential they had — that I saw them in the positions they are now occupying, battling against the best. They have risen to the challenge through hard work, humility and heart year after year, and I couldn’t be more proud of how they have developed, not only as tennis players but as people. I hope all of them go out swinging — giving their very best and knowing that their journey has been quite a ride.”