#SDSportsAwards, girls tennis: Danielle Sebata owns the courts

As a freshman at O’Gorman, Danielle Sebata won every singles match she played, beating the best players in the state on the way to the first-flight singles title.

Sebata also won the first-flight doubles title with teammate Sam Czarnecki, knocking over everyone in her path in her first year as a varsity tennis player for the Knights.

“I was really overwhelmed,” Sebata said in the minutes after winning her first state title. “I don’t think I could have done it without such a supportive team around me. But it’s been great.”

Sebata defeated Madison Fenske of St. Thomas More in straight sets in the finals.

MORE: See other winners of the S.D. Sports Awards

A native of England, Sebata followed cousin Dodi Makwinja, a standout senior Knights football player, to O’Gorman. Tennis is not considered a team sport most places, and it would not have been a big part of Sebata’s experience in youth tennis in England, but at the high school level it’s how we roll around here.

“She’s been crazy about it,” said O’Gorman coach Don Barnes. “They were having a conversation about uniforms for next year – we have about five different uniforms now – stocking caps, head bands, all these things. She was really into it. She has really bought into the whole thing. She loves that she’s representing O’Gorman.”

Though she has obviously been a little more than a lot of local high school players can handle, there is work to be done. Consistency has been a strength, with the goal to complement that with more velocity.

“She misses a ball about once a week,” Barnes said. “She has a nice forehand and a nice backhand. Going forward, to advance to another level, we can work on adding some offense. Right now she has a nice net game and her ground strokes are pretty unbelievable. She really doesn’t have a weakness.”