WOOSTER ― Wooster High School girls tennis star Ava Mathur had no shortage of role models growing up.
The first was in his own house.
Older sister Sophia was the Generals’ No. 1 singles player during her first three years of high school. But Ava took over that roster spot as a freshman, and Sophia became the mentor and helped guide Ava through that first year of college play.
“I always looked up to my sister,” Mathur said. “She was always someone I looked up to academically and athletically. I wanted to be a leader on the team, just like her.”
In one of her biggest matches as a freshman, she faced Walsh’s Emma Kealy, and for Mathur, it was an awesome introduction to varsity tennis in high school. It was a match she eventually retired from, but one that stuck with her.
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“I was extremely nervous, I was so scared,” Mathur said. “I ended up playing well and beat her, but that’s when I realized I had big shoes to fill and big expectations.”
And over the next four years, Ava went from mentor to mentor.
In her four years, the Wooster senior has accumulated a record of 115-26, including a 29-7 in 2024. She has racked up three trips to state, been a three-time OCC champion and helped the Generals to extend their dominance of the conference to five. straight titles. When the dust settled, she finished among the leaders in program history, behind the legendary Vicki Dunbar, who was 136-1 and won three straight state titles in 1977-79.
“It means a lot to me,” Mathur said when asked about his place in program history. “It’s just amazing, because I know how amazing Vicki was. It also shows how much work I put in and how much time I gave.”
However, one of her biggest accomplishments this fall wasn’t measured in wins or losses, but in the improvement of teammates Hailey Jung and Alyssa Rae-McIntosh. Both sophomores, they developed light years from the start of the season, until McIntosh narrowly missed out on a tough sectional and Jung finished fourth at districts. Both credit Mathur for guiding them, being there for them and working with them to develop their games.
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“I saw a lot of myself in them,” Mathur said of working with Jung and McIntosh. “I struggled with confidence, and I know how tennis is a mental sport, and just having no confidence, I went for it. I wanted to help them, so they didn’t have to not having to feel the pressure or the weight of the world on them and seeing them do what they were doing was awesome, and I loved seeing them improve over the years.
As she walks away for the last time, there are no regrets, just enjoyment of the years gone by and the memories she will take with her. Mathur left it all on the tennis court, gave everything she had and now she has the memories and Wooster has her legacy.
“It’s the way she carries herself, her commitment to coaching and the whole program,” Generals coach Cordell Smith said of Mathur’s legacy. “It’s all contagious and then you start seeing it in young girls like Alyssa and Hailey, Elizabeth hits with Ava during the week and Hailey and Alyssa are at the racquet club four to five times a week. They’ve seen the work that ‘Ava has accomplished, the commitment she had to perfecting her craft, they are ready to do the same work.
“She could be tough on the team during warm-ups,” he added. “She was also coaching, giving advice to girls, chatting with me and they wanted to be like her. It’s a snowball effect to be honest. I see it in college tennis players, it’s all because of Ava, and the legacy she leaves behind.
This article was originally published on The Daily Record: Leaving her mark: What Ava Mathur’s legacy means for Wooster tennis
