Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Franklin Regional’s Makinzie Marcus

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Monday, October 14, 2024 | 9:54 AM

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The perfect ending to her final season.

Franklin Regional girls tennis senior Makinzie Marcus recently won the Section 1-3A doubles championship, a significant step up from her runner-up finish last year.

Marcus and her partner Michelle Yan entered the tournament as the No. 1 seeds.

“There was definitely expectation there, but I think it was just a way to stay calm and humble about it, to not go in and say that we were going to win it,” Marcus said. “Have a mindset of, ‘We’re going to do everything we can to win this.’”

In last year’s doubles tournament, Marcus and partner Lucy Zheng were defeated by the other Franklin Regional doubles team, which included Yan.

By no coincidence, Yan was Marcus’ partner this year.

“Especially since it’s my senior year, it was a great ending for me,” Marcus said. “I have played doubles my last three years, so it just came to that great ending that I needed.”

Entering the WPIAL tournament as the third seed, the duo faced the 14th seed from Fox Chapel but lost the match 10-4, a surprising finish to the season.

“We really underestimated our opponent. I think that not having the humility that we had at the section tournament, it didn’t follow us to the WPIALs,” Marcus said. “I think we just thought we were going to win, and that was our downfall.”

As a team, the Panthers won the section for the third consecutive year, going 8-0.

“We all constantly come to practice, and we’re working really hard,” Marcus said. “We definitely deserved that section title, and it was a great way to have that three-year streak and to possibly keep it going.”

This year, Franklin Regional welcomed a new coach who is not a stranger to the program.

Kevin Fisher, the son of former coach Howard Fisher, who led the team for 43 years, has coached the junior varsity team for 13 years and has provided personal lessons to players such as Marcus.

“He honestly just brings so much energy to the team. He’s constantly trying to gas us up and get us in positive mindsets,” Marcus said. “He also gives us the blunt truth about things we aren’t doing well on or things we could get better at.”

Marcus is planning on attending Seton Hill to major in accounting and minor in Spanish and potentially playing tennis in some capacity.

This week, Marcus took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with tennis?

I think I got started with tennis when I was pretty young. I just went to a birthday party that was tennis themed. We did little games and stuff, and it kind of piqued my interest. About the time I was in fifth grade, I started taking lessons at the Club 4 Life. Then I started taking lessons with my now coach (Kevin Fisher) when I was in sixth grade.

What can you say about your chemistry with your doubles partner Michelle Yan?

Before this, we had really never played together. When we started playing together, we actually had great chemistry. We knew what we were doing. We didn’t have any bumps in the road while doing it. We kind of went into it and we were very good doubles partners with very little practice.

How did your previous section doubles tournament experience help you this year?

I think confidence-wise, I was more prepared for what a section match would be like, especially with another partner and going into it with so many other schools. It prepared me more for what I would do this year, and it also gave me the experience that I need.

What is one thing people may not know about you?

I would say I love going to church. It honestly helps me in my game a lot. When I get frustrated, it helps to maybe pray or just have the mindset of humility when I’m playing. I also like to just be kind wherever I go. Part of that is on a sports team, it’s important to be a positive influence on the people around you and to just be supportive to everyone.

How much do you watch tennis and what is your advice for younger players?

I honestly love watching Carlos Alcaraz. He’s either No. 1 or 2 in the world. I love how he constantly goes for the ball no matter what. He always is there and he’s one of the fastest-moving tennis players I’ve ever seen. I just love watching his matches, it’s very fun. As far as advice goes, I’d say just to keep going with the sport. Try new things, try the new strokes and just get into it. Once you get into it and you have people around you that support you, especially in a team setting, it just makes you so much better and it makes you want to improve in this sport. Honestly, if you’re just starting tennis, it’s a great lifetime sport that I’m sure I’ll be playing later in life. I’m excited to do it maybe recreationally in the future.

Tags: Franklin Regional