Gallagher taking tennis game to next level
BUTLER TWP — Playing tennis is nothing new to Courtney Gallagher. The Butler senior has been doing so since third grade.
Only now she's taking her game to another level.
Gallagher, the Golden Tornado's No. 1 singles player the past two years, will continue her academic and tennis career at Slippery Rock University.
“This is a challenge I'm looking forward to,” Gallagher said. “Slippery Rock is one of the top Division II programs around.
“I know I'll have to elevate my game to help them.”
The Rock women's tennis team has reached the regional finals five straight years. SRU finished 21-6 in 2010, losing in the PSAC Finals, but reached the NCAA Division II National Championships and won a couple of matches there.
In 2011, SRU was 15-7 in the spring and lost in the regional final. The Rock won all five of its matches in the fall.
“We've been able to reach national prominence while recruiting local players and I'm proud of that,” SRU coach Matt Meredith said. “Courtney will fit right in that way.”
Gallagher won four singles matches for the Tornado in the fall. She plays United States Tennis Association (USTA) tournaments around Pittsburgh during the summer and won a USTA event in Upper St. Clair last year.
Butler girls tennis coach Alisa Green has worked with Gallagher for nearly 10 years.
“I've been teaching or coaching her since she was 9 or 10,” Green said. “Courtney has always been extremely competitive and coordinated.
“With her dad (Butler varsity assistant Jim Gallagher) being a basketball coach and Courtney having a very supportive mother, I always knew she had the makings of becoming a top player in high school. And she did just that.”
Gallagher said she first got into tennis “by watching my mom and dad play tennis in the driveway.
“It was a common interest they had, so I became interested,” added Gallagher, who joined the Butler Junior Tennis Association in third grade.
Gallagher finished second in the Seven Springs Elks Tournament in 2011 as well, after winning that event as a 16-year-old.
“Her best tennis is definitely ahead of her,” Meredith said. “Courtney is a powerful kid with a good serve and good forehand.
“She has a nice attack game and we'll further develop her all-around game. I think she can be very good here.”
Meredith said Gallagher will likely see action at doubles during her freshman season. She rotated in at doubles as a Butler freshman as well.
Gallagher said working on her doubles play will be a top priority in college.
“You have to,” she said. “Playing doubles is a big part of college tennis.”
Meredith is looking forward to Gallagher's arrival.
“We'll make her quicker, faster and stronger,” he said. “Courtney is already a good player. She should become a real force for us.”
