High school tennis: Medina's Megan Nuske adept at adjusting on the fly

Having already received an unofficial grade of A+ in "Dissecting an Opposing Tennis Player," Medina first singles player Megan Nuske prefers to use her head rather than get in it. A fourth-year varsity player and owner of a 4.51 grade-point average, the 17-year-old is spending her senior year of high school taking online classes through Cuyahoga Community College. Nuske's course load includes "The Cell and DNA," "IT Concepts for Programmers" and "Intro to Discrete Mathematics." Preparing to major in computer programming at Division II Converse University in South Carolina or D-III Pfeiffer University in North Carolina — she plans to continue playing tennis in college — the 5-foot-1 Nuske also is doing everything she can to enhance her on-court abilities. That includes working with tennis professional Dean Morse and personal trainer Sean Robbins at Springside Athletic Club and making monthly trips to South Carolina to meet with coach Bill Jenkins, who spends the majority of his time with Nuske working on strategy and her mental approach to the game. "I focus more on the player across the net than myself," Nuske said. "I try to pick apart their game rather than pick myself apart for missing a forehand." The approach has worked remarkably well for Nuske, who didn't pick up tennis until she was 13 — and only after she figured out soccer, volleyball, basketball and gymnastics weren't for her. "I kind of tried everything when I was younger," she said. When nothing took hold, her mother Jacque suggested golf, which somehow prompted Nuske to think of tennis. The rest is history. Sort of. The diminutive Nuske, who always has an inhaler with her in case her asthma flares up, was one of three teenagers enrolled in a beginners class at Paramount Tennis Club, along with about a dozen 5-year-olds. "It was interesting," she said with a laugh. "They kept us separated because the teenage kids caught on fast at the start, so they moved us up in levels pretty fast." Morse taught that class at Paramount at the time and Nuske was hooked. "I liked it right away and I wasn't that bad at it," she said. "I actually got it kind of fast, where I actually could at least get the ball in or get close to getting it in. "I was always focused. I liked how much of a mental game it is. You can win from being a smarter player. I liked the strategies and how you can keep learning so much on a daily basis." As a Medina freshman, Nuske played primarily third singles and finished 7-16. She is now in her third straight season at first singles and can stake a legitimate claim to being the best female high school player in Medina County not from Highland in each of those years. As a sophomore, Nuske went 9-19 while playing some extremely tough competition. She was on track to be a first-team All-Gazette choice until losing to Highland second doubles player Ella Tople in a singles match at the Springside Division I Sectional. That dropped Nuske to honorable mention All-Gazette and elevated Tople to the first team, giving Highland all seven spots. A year ago, Nuske put it all together and finished 21-9 to earn first-team All-Gazette honors. She was the only non-Highland player on the first team. After winning a United States Tennis Association tournament in North Carolina and two in Ohio over the summer, she is 9-6 as a senior as the Bees enter the busy portion of their schedule. Nuske's improvement did not happen overnight, nor did it happen by accident. From playing numerous USTA tournaments over the summer — often against unfamiliar, higher-ranked players because she realized that would make her better — to learning how to dissect an opponent's game to working on her power, speed and agility, Nuske has dotted every "i" and crossed every "t." "I've improved a lot because of how focused I was," she said. "I was going on vacations and getting up at 8 in the morning for practice, practicing until 11 and then going and working out till 12. "I've definitely gotten better with anticipation. I played a good amount of tournaments against high-level players to really push myself. Even if I didn't think I was going to win, I knew I was going to come out of it better. I wanted to play new people so I had to figure them out. Part way through the first set, I can usually figure out where they will hit their approach, or that I can hit to the backhand and they'll struggle to hit it down the line." The strides Nuske has made — mentally and physically — have not gone unnoticed. "The improvement has been unbelievable, especially between her sophomore and junior years," Bees coach Pete Hoffmann said. "She started working on her footwork and mobility, and that helped her a lot. The biggest thing was mentally, how much she learned when it came to playing a match and altering her strategy in order to win it. "She loves tennis. She likes being on the court, she likes hitting, she likes being with her teammates. You can tell she has a love for the game. That will continue into college, and I can see her continuing to play until she's old like me." Medina second singles player and close friend Ashley Wallace has witnessed the improvement and dedication up close. "She's always expressing her love for the game," the junior said. "Megan is one of the hardest workers I know. One of her biggest strengths is determining what a player likes and doesn't like. She'll lob at one player and drive it at another. She always seems to know exactly what to do." Thanks to her work with Smith, Nuske is equally good at knowing what not to do. "Megan is really good at moving on from a point," Wallace said. "Most players get hung up on the last point. She always jumps into the next point with emotion and thought. She has that experience. She knows exactly how to beat a player." Extremely intelligent and thoughtful, Nuske is quick to point out she did not progress without a lot of help from others. She credits Morse for helping her develop a solid forehand, backhand, volley and serve, Robbins for all the workouts he devises to improve her strength, speed and quickness and Smith for teaching — and always reminding — her how to use her head as another weapon. Most of all, Nuske praises her parents — father Eric is an accountant and mom Jacque works in bookkeeping and payroll — for all the tennis trips they've made and money they've spent, as well as older sister Lauren, a 2022 Medina graduate now at Ohio University, for always being her ally and biggest supporter. "My sister has made a huge impact," she said. "When she leaves for college she makes me letters to open before every match, so it's almost like she's still here talking to me and supporting me. That's been a big help and I really appreciate her." Nuske spoke at length about her parents, who arrange their work schedules to not only watch all her matches, but drive her to South Carolina, where they own a home, so she can have monthly meetings with Jenkins during the high school season. "When I was thinking about doing this, my parents made it possible to work with that coach," she said. "Without them and their ability to work from home and travel to see this coach, without their flexibility and want for me to be as good as possible, I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.