It was Ana Cristescu’s freshman year when she watched her teammate, Sophia Fergus, beat the girls tennis record for most wins. Though, just recently on Sept. 27 at the Oshkosh Invitational, Ana broke the record when she got her 108th win.
“I remembered Sophia Fergus beating the record, and I was really happy for her, so I felt like that made my moment very special,” Cristescu said.
After winning all her matches at subsectionals and sectionals on Oct. 6 and 8, Ana now has 113 wins. Winning those matches also means that Ana and her sister, Maria, will advance to state as De Pere’s No. 1 doubles team. This will be her fourth time going to state. They are 23-0 and will go to state this Friday, and the championship will be held on Saturday.
Ana has been playing tennis for almost 14 years and has put in a lot of work to get to where she is now. She’s gotten support and motivation from friends and family, especially her parents. Her parents have made an effort to be at every match and are Ana’s biggest supporters and inspirations.
“They really instilled a lot of work ethic in me, and I’ve achieved so much in this sport because of them,” Ana said. “They helped me put up a fight even when I wasn’t the most positive about my matches.”
Ana is an amazing player, but like every sports player she’s experienced a few losses. Last year at state, Ana and Maria took fourth place.
“Even though you lose some times, you have to keep fighting through it, and it comes out better on the other side,” she said. “I only allowed myself to feel down for a small period of time and just focused on the next match. I would say that’s what helped keep me motivated.”
Since it is her senior year, she expressed how she’s unsure if she’ll play in college yet. She’s still looking at her options, but if she doesn’t, she’ll continue to do club tennis.
“I love tennis, and I enjoy playing it,” Cristescu said.
For the aspiring athletes who want to succeed, Ana said, “Put in the work and enjoy the sport. You just have to spend time playing because if you’re committed, the numbers, the results, the success — it will all come.”
