In addition to senior Kristina Palmer’s height and six years of tennis experience, her habit of wild shrieking when she returns a volley makes her stand out on the court.

“I’m known for making odd sound effects on the court,” Palmer said. “Apparently I squeal and screech when I go for a tough shot. Most of the time I don’t even even realize I’m doing it so it’s completely involuntary. They call it my ‘war cry.'”

Palmer, the No. 3 player on the varsity ladder, started playing tennis at the beginning of 7th grade as a way to spend time with friends.

“It was the one sport I could play without hurting myself,” Palmer said. “Plus, tennis is fun and a lot of my friends play it. So it’s a time to be around them.”

Palmer’s skills and Christian principles make her a leader to other players on the court.

“Kristina is such a good player because first of all, the girls look up to her because of her height,” head coach George Freeman said. “But the main reason is because she has strong Christian convictions, which are the foundation she works on. This attracts others to follow her.”

Palmer sets goals for herself in order to help motivate her to have a successful year.

“One of my goals for tennis this year was to be in the top four of the ladder, so I’m happy,” said. “Winning Valley Champs would be awesome too. I just want to have a lot of fun this year overall.”

Through four years of varsity tennis, Palmer has continued to improve her skills.

“Over this time, Palmer has become a much wiser and strategic player,” Freeman said. “She finds her opponent’s weaknesses and goes after them. Her serves have become blistering and follow-throughs legendary. Although she has a sweet disposition, on the tennis court she is all business.”

Palmer does not plan on playing tennis in college, but hopes to study or live abroad.

“In the future, I plan on either attending Santa Clara University or University of Portland,” Palmer said. “I want to study anthropology or psychology. The way the human mind works interests me. A dream of mine is to move to England some day.”

For further information on the girls’ tennis team read the Girls’ tennis sport shorts or e-mail Freeman.