Jaime Bogle and Joanna McShaffry just needed a little time to grow into their roles.
Both joined the Wildwood Catholic Academy girls tennis team three years ago as freshmen without any expectations of winning. Three years later, they’re getting used to a lot of success.
Bogle, the team’s first singles player this year, joined the Crusaders without any tennis experience but still found a spot in the starting lineup her freshman year.
“I started at third singles,” Bogle said. “We didn’t have a very big team, so I kind of just got thrown in there. I had never played before and I didn’t win one match my freshman year.”
Luckily, the team had a constant supporter in coach Joe Halasz, who has a habit of raising smiles from his players even when the scoreboard was lopsided in the other team’s favor.
“The whole thing isn’t about winning or losing,” said Halasz, who has been coaching the team for five years. “It’s about having fun. Four years ago, they all had fun.”
It’s what made players like Bogle and McShaffry want to come back. The team was 1-9 that year and McShaffry was also thrown into the fire after a long absence from the game.
“I started at a young age,” said McShaffry, who now plays third singles. “I did tennis clinics and lessons up to fifth grade until I broke my ankle and then I stopped. I basically came back as a newbie.”
After an adjustment period, both girls turned the corner and started turning in winning performances. Bogle is in the midst of her third straight winning season individually as she’s 10-3 through Oct. 8 facing the best players in the area.
McShaffry is 10-2 through Oct. 8 and the team has enjoyed 10 wins so far this year, thanks to a pack of enthusiastic players that includes junior Evelyn McNicholas at second singles.
“They try so hard and all work together,” Halasz said. “I’m so impressed with the new girls that have never played before and the older girls that are helping them. It’s really great.”
Bogle and McShaffry were prime examples of being quick learners. McShaffry also excels at softball, and she’s depended upon as the lead role in several school theater productions including Anna in “Frozen.”
“Playing her was being a lot like myself on stage,” McShaffry said with a laugh. “So, it was a lot of fun.”
She also starred as Morticia Addams in the “Addams Family,” Sharpay Evans in “High School Musical,” Daisy Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby” and Ilona Ritter in “She Loves Me.” She hopes to study musical theater in college and minor in journalism or communications.
Bogle also stays busy. She’s a member of Wildwood Catholic’s cheerleading squad and is the vice president of the executive board on student council, as well as a member of National Honors Society. She’s ranked at the top of her class academically.
“I’m actually tied with my best friend, Quinn Nola,” said Bogle, who hopes to pursue neuroscience in college. “We’re best friends and tied for top of the class. We’re killing it.”
The same can be said on the tennis court. Bogle and McShaffry have come a long way since their freshman year.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” McShaffry said. “It’s really nice to win, honestly. Jaime and I were second and third singles our freshman year, so we were playing people who were so much better than us. We were struggling. But through our coach and through practice, we’ve gotten so much better. It’s been great to turn it around.”
Being on the other side of it seems like a distant, albeit vivid memory for Bogle.
“Even though I didn’t win [freshman year], it was still fun,” she said. “All I wanted to do was get one point. I just didn’t want to lose 40-love every time. And once I got a point, I wanted to win a game. And then a set and then a match.”
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