New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Pickens was perfect for Amity
Kiley Pickens had already lost her first season with the Amity girls tennis program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She didn’t want to lose any part of her next season for any reason.
But that possibility existed for Pickens when she fractured her right elbow on Feb. 21 — although she wasn’t aware that was the case initially.
“I was running laps around the court and my foot got caught in the netting and I fell,” Pickens said. “I went and played (tennis) for 20-30 minutes. I wasn’t sure of the damage. I didn’t have full range of motion in the elbow, so I went to the hospital to get X-rays.”
There was going to be a spring tennis season this year. But was Pickens going to be ready on time? The answer was yes.
Pickens was ready to go for Amity’s season opener. She won her No. 1 singles match in straight sets. That was a familiar theme throughout the season.
Pickens went 24-0, helping lead Amity to the Southern Connecticut Conference Division I tournament championship and the Class LL state finals. She also won the first CIAC Invitational Tournament.
That perfection made Pickens the choice for the Register’s Area MVP.
“I’m very proud of myself for going undefeated,” Pickens said.
She quickly noted the importance of the team and how important that was this season.
“To help one another, have people cheer me on or cheer on other people, it helps you focus on the good of the team rather than yourself,” Pickens said.
Amity coach Harold Freedman has been impressed with Pickens’ groundstrokes, footwork and speed. The longtime coach calls her a complete player and puts Pickens in a class by herself.
“We’ve had some great players at Amity but Kiley does stand out as the most complete player I have had the pleasure to coach,” said Freedman, who began coaching at Amty in 1975. “She has the support of a terrific tennis family and her upside is great.”
Pickens and her family moved from Cary, North Carolina to Orange. In 2020, there were very few USTA tournaments played. So Pickns said she trained four to five hours per day.
Freedman said Pickens and freshman Isabella Sivignano were able to have a few challenge matches to determine who would be the top seed. Freedman said they were all close.
“Amity is lucky to have them both. They tested each other at every practice, and kept each other sharp for competition against our opponents,” Freedman said..
Pickens and Sivignano tore through the SCC in the top two singles positions. They also were integral in getting the Spartans on the doorstep of winning their first state championship.
Both players won in straight sets, but Staples prevailed 4-3.
“That will give us more motivation for next year,” Pickens said. “We lost some of our seniors, but some (tennis players) coming in will hopefully help us win states.”
Pickens, 16, was selected as the top seed in the Invitational tournament. Darien’s Emily Wiley was one of the few to force a third set on the sophomore. Pickens won a 10-5 supertiebreaker to advance.
“I thought I’d be out in the first round,” Pickens said. “I wasn’t playing my best tennis. I had to remind myself how badly I wanted to win and I pulled it out. There were a lot of people there from the team supporting me.”
That was the only set Pickens lost all season.
Pickens won her final three matches all in straight sets, including Wilton’s No 3 seed Emma Caldwell 6-2, 6-3, to become Amity’s first singles champion.
Any success with her summer schedule will help Pickens start to draw interest from colleges. She wants to play Division I.
The strength of Pickens’ game is her forehand, which she uses to overpower her opponents. She feels her backhand is coming along and admits she needs work on her net game.
Freedman already feels Pickens is a complete player.
“She is on balance for virtually every shot and that puts tremendous pressure on her opponents to overhit or go for low percentage shots,” Freedman said.
“Add to that, she loves the fight and the better the competition the better the fight in her emerges.”