Perzanowski Knows Perfection
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE -ÊWawasee senior Mandy Perzanowski has played in the No. 1 singles spot for the Warriors since she was a sophomore, but when this season began she was not even sure she would be able to play tennis. And she definitely wasn't thinking about the regional or state tournament.
She just wanted to play.
For the past three years, Perzanowski has been plagued with painful ganglion cysts in her wrists. Ganglion cysts are fluid- filled sacs that can be felt under the skin, and they are the most common cysts that develop in the hands and wrists. Although the cysts are common, they can be painful, especially when a person uses their hands and wrists frequently in a strenuous manner.
No one completely understands why the cysts form, but there are three main options for treatment. A person can leave the cysts alone, undergo an aspiration or have surgery. An aspiration involves putting a needle into the cyst and removing the fluid in the sac, and surgery removes the entire sac.
Perzanowski played through the pain her sophomore year, but by the time she was a junior, she had to get cortisone shots to fight the pain.
"I knew Mandy was having major pain even in her sophomore year," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler. "In her junior year, she was getting cortisone shots, and she was playing with a lot of pain. I knew something had to be done."
After three years of discomfort, Perzanowski underwent surgery to remove the cysts in December.
"I couldn't move my wrists," said Perzanowski. "The cortisone shots were not helping anymore, so in December, I had orthoscopic surgery to remove the cysts."
While the surgery helped ease the pain of the cysts for Perzanowski, it put her senior season in jeopardy.
"I didn't know if I would be able to play," said Perzanowski. "It was painful for the first few practices, but I kept going. I want to play in college, and I just wanted to be better by then."
"I always try to look for the best," said Mishler. "I just hoped the surgery would solve the pain problem.
"Realistically I was not sure what she would do this season. I knew there would be a lot of rehab and she would not be able to do a lot in winter tennis. She was not able to hold a racket.
"That was a concern for me, especially since this was her senior year. She's been with us for four years, and I wanted to see her have a great senior season."
Depite her doubts, Perzanowski worked hard and held the No. 1 singles spot for Wawasee. But she didn't just play to fill the spot, she played to win.
And win she did. Not only did Perzanowski lead the Warriors to their second sectional championship in school history (the first was in 1998 when Perzanowski was a sophomore), she did something no other Wawasee singles tennis player, male or female, has done. She went undefeated through an entire regular season.
But Perzanowski did not stop there. She continued to win through the individual sectional last week and improved her record to a stunning 24-0 this year and 69-21 overall.
"I have to give Mandy a lot of credit, she listened to everything I said, even though it may not have been true," said Mishler. "She gained confidence, and when she hit her first practice shots this year, they were at least a foot deeper than last year. She can hit the ball within a foot or two of the baseline, keep her opponent on her heels and put the shot when she wants it. Mandy steps on the court with confidence and strokes the ball knowing she can put the ball where she wants it."
Perzanowski will hit the court again Saturday in Indianapolis when she faces Penn's Laura Whitney in the individual tennis regional tournament at North Central High School at 10 a.m. Tippecanoe Valley's No. 1 doubles team of Kyleigh Gast and Kris Sanders, who boast a 20-1 record, will team up against Sarah Miller and Amy Smith of Bremen Saturday at 10 a.m. as well.
However, Perzanowski will not be finished when the high school season ends. She has been invited to the North-South All Star match at the Five Seasons Country Club in Indianapolis sponsored by the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association on June 11. Then, on June 18, Perzanowski will head for Kentucky to play in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Game sponsored by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association. [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE -ÊWawasee senior Mandy Perzanowski has played in the No. 1 singles spot for the Warriors since she was a sophomore, but when this season began she was not even sure she would be able to play tennis. And she definitely wasn't thinking about the regional or state tournament.
She just wanted to play.
For the past three years, Perzanowski has been plagued with painful ganglion cysts in her wrists. Ganglion cysts are fluid- filled sacs that can be felt under the skin, and they are the most common cysts that develop in the hands and wrists. Although the cysts are common, they can be painful, especially when a person uses their hands and wrists frequently in a strenuous manner.
No one completely understands why the cysts form, but there are three main options for treatment. A person can leave the cysts alone, undergo an aspiration or have surgery. An aspiration involves putting a needle into the cyst and removing the fluid in the sac, and surgery removes the entire sac.
Perzanowski played through the pain her sophomore year, but by the time she was a junior, she had to get cortisone shots to fight the pain.
"I knew Mandy was having major pain even in her sophomore year," said Wawasee coach Phil Mishler. "In her junior year, she was getting cortisone shots, and she was playing with a lot of pain. I knew something had to be done."
After three years of discomfort, Perzanowski underwent surgery to remove the cysts in December.
"I couldn't move my wrists," said Perzanowski. "The cortisone shots were not helping anymore, so in December, I had orthoscopic surgery to remove the cysts."
While the surgery helped ease the pain of the cysts for Perzanowski, it put her senior season in jeopardy.
"I didn't know if I would be able to play," said Perzanowski. "It was painful for the first few practices, but I kept going. I want to play in college, and I just wanted to be better by then."
"I always try to look for the best," said Mishler. "I just hoped the surgery would solve the pain problem.
"Realistically I was not sure what she would do this season. I knew there would be a lot of rehab and she would not be able to do a lot in winter tennis. She was not able to hold a racket.
"That was a concern for me, especially since this was her senior year. She's been with us for four years, and I wanted to see her have a great senior season."
Depite her doubts, Perzanowski worked hard and held the No. 1 singles spot for Wawasee. But she didn't just play to fill the spot, she played to win.
And win she did. Not only did Perzanowski lead the Warriors to their second sectional championship in school history (the first was in 1998 when Perzanowski was a sophomore), she did something no other Wawasee singles tennis player, male or female, has done. She went undefeated through an entire regular season.
But Perzanowski did not stop there. She continued to win through the individual sectional last week and improved her record to a stunning 24-0 this year and 69-21 overall.
"I have to give Mandy a lot of credit, she listened to everything I said, even though it may not have been true," said Mishler. "She gained confidence, and when she hit her first practice shots this year, they were at least a foot deeper than last year. She can hit the ball within a foot or two of the baseline, keep her opponent on her heels and put the shot when she wants it. Mandy steps on the court with confidence and strokes the ball knowing she can put the ball where she wants it."
Perzanowski will hit the court again Saturday in Indianapolis when she faces Penn's Laura Whitney in the individual tennis regional tournament at North Central High School at 10 a.m. Tippecanoe Valley's No. 1 doubles team of Kyleigh Gast and Kris Sanders, who boast a 20-1 record, will team up against Sarah Miller and Amy Smith of Bremen Saturday at 10 a.m. as well.
However, Perzanowski will not be finished when the high school season ends. She has been invited to the North-South All Star match at the Five Seasons Country Club in Indianapolis sponsored by the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association on June 11. Then, on June 18, Perzanowski will head for Kentucky to play in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Game sponsored by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association. [[In-content Ad]]