Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) senior Emily
Luetschwager’s road to becoming a State Champion started when she was a
toddler.

The daughter of Mark and Jean Luetschwager, the longtime United
States Tennis Association (USTA) tennis professional at SentryWorld, Emily got
her start in the sport while playing on the side during her mom’s tennis
lessons.

Through the years, she developed into the top high school
girls tennis player in Wisconsin,
a NCAA Division 1 recruit and a two-time WIAA Division 1 Individual State
Champion.

“It’s crazy,” said SPASH girls tennis head coach Gary Baier.
“She’s 70-0 in
the last two years and lost one set, and multiple victories where she gave up a
few points in a match.

“It’s once in a lifetime to have a player of that caliber
come through,” he said.

“I dragged her along to the courts because I was teaching,
so she was always around the court,” said Jean. “She would just start hitting
balls against the wall and liked being around all of the other kids, because
the older kids just coddled her.

“And then that developed and morphed into what she is
today,” she said. “Always ambitious, jumped in lessons, whether they were
stronger or weaker than her, and it was just, she loved the game.

“She loves the game, she loves to play and she loves to
compete,” she said.

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