Athlete: Alone on the court

Abigail Mattias plays tennis and her role model is Novak Djokovic. It is her love of tennis, though, that got her interested in badminton, but she has found that the sports are completely different.

Mattias has been playing on Armijo’s badminton team for three years and can proudly state that she and her team have gone to Monticello Empire League (MEL) finals in the past. Her most memorable game was the last one against Davis last year. “My string broke and I lost,” she said, “but it was impactful to me.

While she likes the sport, she said that she may not be able to fit it into her schedule in college “because I may be busy with classes.” She hopes to attend a University of California campus, and has been trying to choose between San Diego, Santa Barbara and Davis. She also hopes to volunteer at an animal shelter while she is attending the university that will be lucky enough to have her.

In addition to playing badminton and tennis, Mattias also plays in marching band. “It may take up time, but it builds teamwork and relieves stress,” she said about participating in sports. And although it is good for her personally, there are ways she could see that it could be improved. “There are sports like badminton that have been needing new equipment and (marching) band doesn’t receive money, so I feel if we got money the way other activities do, it would help,” she said.