Athlete of the Week:
Age 17 | School Vincent Memorial | Grade 12
Anybody who’s twirled a racket or watched some open level tennis is familiar with the sound made when a ball is cleanly pocketed and crisply hit. THOK!
There’s something deeply satisfying about that sound, and it doesn’t matter who’s making it. It’s a neat, staccato pucker unique to racquet sports, connoting accomplishment in a way few other onomatopoeia can manage.
And if one is attending a match featuring Vincent Memorial’s Lucia Uribe, then it’s a fairly common note to hear.
THOK! THOK! THOK!
Uribe is the top-ranked singles player among Scots girls, and she’s having a heck of a year. She’s played in 18 total sets and has dropped only two, with zero of those dropped sets coming in league play, where she’s 12-0.
In the Scots’ two most recent league matches (against Central and Brawley) she has helped the team remain undefeated by defeating her opponents 6-2, 6-0, 6-0 and 6-3, 6-0, 6-0.
Uribe has the advantage of experience over many of her opponents. She’s been playing since she was 7 years old and has been representing Vincent on the singles court each year she’s been in attendance, starting out at No. 3 singles and spending the last couple of years in the two hole, before claiming the top spot as a senior.
For her, the court is a place of clarity, and personal responsibility. Out there there’s just you and your opponent, and nobody left over to blame if things go wrong.
Of course it helps if things hardly ever do. Uribe does her best to ensure just that.
And her best is pretty darned good.
My favorites
Pro athlete Roger Federer (“I love watching him play.”) Class Math (“Any kind, trig, algebra … I just love solving those problems.”) Movie “The Sixth Sense” Actress Kristen Bell (“She’s very funny.”) Song “Ojalá,” by Silvio Rodríguez Musician Timbiriche
What do you enjoy most about your sport?
“You can play with anyone who knows how. You can take your racquet anywhere and just find someone. You don’t need a whole team.”
What is one of your more memorable sporting moments?
“In the second round of CIF last year, I lost. I lost, but it didn’t matter, because I played the best tennis of my life, so I came off of the court happy.”
Who inspires you and why?
“My parents. I always strive to make them proud to thank them for everything they do for me.”
What are your goals for the rest of the season?
“To end up No. 1 in IVL and to get to CIF and go to at least the third round.”