Senior Louisa Randazzo has been playing for the Morristown-Beard varsity tennis team since her freshman year.  Starting at second doubles in ninth grade, she progressively moved up the lineup and earned the prestigious first singles spot as a senior – a challenge that she has stepped up to extremely well.  

This year, Randazzo is a co-captain for the team alongside Molly Michel ‘20. Together they have led the team to a 14-4 team record. This season, the girls swept rival Mountain Lakes (5-0) for the first time in over ten years in addition to placing second out of over twenty teams in the Morris County Tournament that took place on September 21st and 22nd.  

As if this isn’t a considerable achievement already, Randazzo also competes on both the ice hockey and lacrosse teams for the school. She has been able to flawlessly juggle the challenges of senior year while simultaneously making it to every single season match to play and support her team.  

Sophie Schramm ‘22 explained that although she is “new this year to varsity, Louisa has been so nice and friendly and made [me] feel right at home.”  The Morristown-Beard tennis team will greatly miss Louisa next year; Coach Brett Michel describes her as “one of the most successful women’s tennis players not only in recent history but all time” and praises her ability to “balance the demands of being a serious athlete while maintaining a personality that puts her teammates at ease.”    

Morristown-Beard girls’ tennis will never be the same without Randazzo, but the coaches and players are all confident that she will accomplish big things in college and will continue to be a stellar person on and off the court.

How long have you been playing tennis for? 

My whole family played, so I think I first picked up a racquet when I was five.

Why do you like playing tennis? Tennis is an individual sport, so it lets me challenge myself while still having a really supportive team.

What’s your favorite memory of playing for the team? 

Probably freshman year playing doubles with Molly [Michel]. We went to the prep finals and the county semifinals, and we’ll probably play doubles together on senior day. 

How did the team come together during preseason? 

The first couple days of preseason is always a little awkward because it doesn’t really feel like a team yet, but by the end of the first week we all had our A-games and became really close teammates and friends. It’s always challenging to play matches against your own team, but we all had support for each other regardless. 

Was there a specific match/tournament that you looked forward to this year? 

I always look forward to playing Mountain Lakes; we’ve been rivals with them since my freshman year and we hadn’t gotten a win against them until earlier this season.

What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from tennis? 

Patience. I’m not the most patient person, but tennis requires a lot of discipline, and learning to wait out long points has really helped my stamina in school and other sports.

What piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to play tennis for Morristown-Beard? 

No matter what skill level you are, there’s a spot for you. Have fun and try your best, but don’t take it too seriously if you have a tough match.

If you could go back in time, what’s one thing you’d tell your younger self? 

Probably to trust yourself and go with the flow. 

What are you looking forward to in your last county tournament? 

I’m not putting pressure on myself to win the whole thing or to get to a certain round; I just want to play my best and have fun. [They won, ed.]