LIVE OAK — Going into the season, Brooke Fernald didn’t know what to fully expect.
The Suwannee senior expected to be one of the Bulldogs’ top two players considering she and Charlotte Dunn were the only returners.
But with nobody else coming back, there were a lot of questions and uncertainty surrounding the SHS program, including if there would even be a senior campaign.
“It was a little scary at first,” Fernald said. “We didn’t know how well we would do. We didn’t even know if we would have a team. But in the end, it worked out to be really good and we’re really thankful for that.
“We were a little nervous at first. We got really lucky with a good team.”
That good team also lucked out with good leadership, starting with Fernald, who claimed the No. 1 spot in Suwannee’s lineup and carried it to an 8-5 record in singles and a 9-3 mark in doubles, mostly teaming with Dunn. They also led the Bulldogs to a district title and a regional berth, all of which helped land Fernald the title of Lake City Reporter Girls Tennis Player of the Year.
It’s a positive finish to a season that focused on that kind of mindset. Fernald, who said she has always tried to stay positive on the court and worry more about having fun than the results, said she doubled down on those efforts heading into her final campaign at Suwannee.
“I just wanted to have fun on the court,” she said. “I wasn’t too worried about winning or losing. I was just having a lot of fun. The team was so helpful with that, especially my coaches. I was just having a lot of fun. I love tennis.”
While she may not have been worried about winning or losing, the fun was amplified as Fernald and the Bulldogs ended up doing more of the good than the bad. Suwannee finished the year 11-2, dropping its season opener 4-3 against Taylor County and then not losing again until the regional at Fort Walton Beach.
That success was a testament to Fernald and Dunn and their leadership, according to first-year Suwannee coach Keri Koehn.
“Being such a great mentor for the new athletes coming into the program was great,” Koehn said, listing off strengths of Fernald.
Also on that list was adaptability.
Koehn said her No. 1 player has a knack for being able to adjust to whatever tennis — or life — throws at her, not letting it get her off her game.
“To be able to just adapt and overcome whatever challenges that were sent her way,” Koehn said.
That included being able to switch over to a new partner at doubles in the district championship when Dunn was unable to attend due to other obligations. Instead, Fernald teamed with freshman Brielle Clower in a match against Santa Fe’s top team of Cara Davis and Carissa Davis, who ended up winning the match while the Bulldogs ended up taking the team title 4-3.
“It didn’t faze her,” Koehn added. “She got out there and they played like they had played together forever, just like her and Charlotte would have.”
That was just one of a couple of moments that stuck with Koehn when it comes to Fernald’s grace under fire at the front of the Suwannee program.
A month earlier during the early part of the season, Suwannee battled Rickards twice — winning 6-1 both at SHS and in Tallahassee. Koehn said the Raiders didn’t show off the “best hospitality” during those matches, instead lobbing insults and snide remarks at the Suwannee players to try to even the score.
“They said some very rude things to the girls just trying to get in their heads when they were playing,” Koehn recalled.
But, behind the actions of their leader in Fernald, it didn’t work as Suwannee easily won both matches. Fernald won 8-2 at home and 8-5 on the road.
“Brooke didn’t let it faze her,” Koehn said. “They said some rude things to her but she just kept playing. It was like in one ear and out the other and she didn’t let it affect her game.
“It’s a quiet game so there’s not really a lot of conversing go on on the courts. But to have somebody that’s being negative every time that you switch sides, I could see where it could really mess up your game if you let it get in your head.”
With her mindset of focusing on the fun rather than the score, it’s not easy to get in Fernald’s head or get her off her game. Even getting ahead of her doesn’t help as she points to her hustle and refusal to quit as the strength of her game.
“I don’t like to give up on a ball,” she said. “I’m never afraid. Like if it’s 2-5 and I’m losing, that doesn’t really worry me that much.”
In fact, in that district title match against Santa Fe, Fernald fell behind Cara Davis early on. But she just kept playing, kept battling, although she ended up losing 8-4 to “one of the best players I played.”
Still, that refusal to just lay down is what Fernald said she will carry with her from her final season as a Bulldog.
“I came back and in my mind, I just kept telling myself, ‘Keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t quit. You’ve got it. Just breathe,’” Fernald said. “And it worked out. I definitely persevered and I think that sums me up as a player, that match.”