Grounded in life and her strokes, Abernethy leads Asheville School's unbeaten tennis team
ASHEVILLE – Strong tennis abilities such as Sarah Abernethy’s do not simply come from family pingpong games, no matter how heated they may get.
“We don’t just play 21-point games; we will play 21-game sets,” Bill Abernethy, father of the Asheville School junior, said with a chuckle.
Bill is a cardiologist and works long, often unpredictable hours. As a single parent of four, he finds those family moments precious.
According to him, Sarah makes the stressful days easier by being a fantastic big sister to the youngest daughter, 12-year-old Gracey Abernethy. Sarah, 16, helps out by giving Gracey a ride to extracurricular activities, but it is not a chore because they are best friends.
Sarah's mom, Jill Abernethy, died in 2015 of breast cancer. Like her husband and children, she was smart, athletic and amicable.
Jill played soccer at High Point Central High School, attended the University of North Carolina on a full-tuition scholarship and the University of Washington, and earned degrees in business administration and accounting before she came home to North Carolina, married Bill and built a family.
The entire family seems to have always enjoyed sports.
Sarah has played almost her entire life. According to her father, she started out as a soccer player and eventually got turned on to tennis by her older brother, Eli.
“I look up to Eli a lot,” Sarah said. "He is an incredible player and role model, and he was basically another coach to me.”
Eli is a junior at Davidson College and played on its tennis team his freshman year.
Sarah said she has played tennis since she was about 5. She started playing with her older twin siblings at the Country Club of Asheville for fun, until her brother slowly surpassed her and her older sister’s skill levels.
She could not let him win that easily.
“All four of us played a ton of sports growing up: soccer, swimming, basketball, tennis,” Abernethy said, “and all of my siblings all play tennis now. But I am the most competitive.”
Derry Roberson, Sarah’s coach at Asheville School, has seen her competitive side longer than the average high school coach.
Roberson became a certified International Tennis Federation coach at age 16 and has been training Sarah for almost eight years. While a student at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, Roberson first coached Sarah at the school's summer tennis camp.
“Making the adjustment from calling her by her first name to 'Coach Roberson' was difficult,” Abernethy said. “But as a college athlete and lifelong tennis player, she knows what she’s talking about.”
Roberson has been coaching girls tennis at Asheville School for almost four years. In that time the Blues have remained a top school in the Carolina Athletic Association, and they entered the week undefeated.
Abernethy is playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the squad after playing No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles the previous two seasons.
She is an aggressive player and a baseliner. Her best skills are getting the ball deep and hitting it hard, making her a strong competitor in her favorite set, singles.
Sarah inherited many of Jill's good traits, her father said, like her grace and can-do spirit. Roberson said one of Sarah's greatest traits is her team-player attitude, like her mom's.
"Sarah would never talk too highly of herself or boast about her skills," Roberson said. "The only way you could get her to say her rank is by asking directly what number she plays."
Her down-to-earth approach in all aspects of life is part of what has led to her improvement over the years, according to her coach and father, who say Sarah is not afraid to admit shortcomings on and off the court.
Sarah said her weakness is coming to the net, an important skill in doubles. Her doubles partner, Rachel Kuehn, is comfortable at the net and a perfect match.
Kuehn, who plays No. 2 singles, has become one of Sarah’s best friends and motivators in the three seasons they have been paired together.
“This season I suggested experimenting and splitting them,” Roberson said. “They got so sad and said, ‘But why? We’re so good together.’
"Needless to say, I gave in, and they stayed partners.”
Abernethy and Kuehn have a skill-balance as individuals that keeps them driven to win in singles and doubles. Roberson said it sometimes seems less like a No. 1 and No. 2 ranking and more like 1-A and 1-B, which makes their bond strong, their practices fierce and their team powerful.
Abernethy said she enjoys doubles with Kuehn because she eases some of the intensity and brings the fun into tennis even on the hardest days, which adds to her list of memories from Asheville School girls tennis.
“My favorite tennis memory is actually from my freshman year,” Sarah said. “We played Cannon School in Charlotte. I’ll never forget how we beat them in a tie break, 5-4.”
That Asheville School girls team became the first to win the first round of the state playoffs.
Abernethy practices about two hours a day at school during the season and one to two hours daily outside the season. She still goes to the country club in her free time on the weekend to play with her childhood friends, who she said played a major role in the foundation for her tennis passion.
According to Roberson, Abernethy is an A student and participates in two clubs, Mitchel Cabinet and Microlending. Sarah said she holds herself to high standards and tries to do well in her dad’s eyes.
“Sarah works hard on athletics, even harder on academics,” Bill said, “and excels at both.”
Sarah Abernethy is a day student at Asheville School instead of living on campus. She said she enjoys being able to leave the school environment to come home to her family and most importantly a home-cooked meal.
The Abernethy family is supportive of Sarah’s academics and athletics. She said her father is at every match, but sometimes there are more supporters in the crowd than she bargained for.
“Every match I have at least one member of the Abernethy clan in the crowd,” she said. “But, I remember freshman year in Gastonia I had a full bleacher of family watching, making us all nervous and adding to the experience at the same time.”
Abernethy said she is excited to have her friends and family see her team potentially win a state title. Tennis has been her highlight of every year at Asheville School since her freshman year.
She aspires to play tennis in college to experience the exciting atmosphere of serious Division I competition. Roberson said she is 10-1 in singles and 11-0 in doubles and expects her to perform equally as well in a college atmosphere.
"My hope is she plays tennis in college," Roberson said, "because she would thrive on a college team and has a lot to give as an individual and a teammate."
ASHEVILLE – Strong tennis abilities such as Sarah Abernethy’s do not simply come from family pingpong games, no matter how heated they may get.
“We don’t just play 21-point games; we will play 21-game sets,” Bill Abernethy, father of the Asheville School junior, said with a chuckle.
Bill is a cardiologist and works long, often unpredictable hours. As a single parent of four, he finds those family moments precious.
According to him, Sarah makes the stressful days easier by being a fantastic big sister to the youngest daughter, 12-year-old Gracey Abernethy. Sarah, 16, helps out by giving Gracey a ride to extracurricular activities, but it is not a chore because they are best friends.
Sarah's mom, Jill Abernethy, died in 2015 of breast cancer. Like her husband and children, she was smart, athletic and amicable.
Jill played soccer at High Point Central High School, attended the University of North Carolina on a full-tuition scholarship and the University of Washington, and earned degrees in business administration and accounting before she came home to North Carolina, married Bill and built a family.
The entire family seems to have always enjoyed sports.
Sarah has played almost her entire life. According to her father, she started out as a soccer player and eventually got turned on to tennis by her older brother, Eli.
“I look up to Eli a lot,” Sarah said. "He is an incredible player and role model, and he was basically another coach to me.”
Eli is a junior at Davidson College and played on its tennis team his freshman year.
Sarah said she has played tennis since she was about 5. She started playing with her older twin siblings at the Country Club of Asheville for fun, until her brother slowly surpassed her and her older sister’s skill levels.
She could not let him win that easily.
“All four of us played a ton of sports growing up: soccer, swimming, basketball, tennis,” Abernethy said, “and all of my siblings all play tennis now. But I am the most competitive.”
Derry Roberson, Sarah’s coach at Asheville School, has seen her competitive side longer than the average high school coach.
Roberson became a certified International Tennis Federation coach at age 16 and has been training Sarah for almost eight years. While a student at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, Roberson first coached Sarah at the school's summer tennis camp.
“Making the adjustment from calling her by her first name to 'Coach Roberson' was difficult,” Abernethy said. “But as a college athlete and lifelong tennis player, she knows what she’s talking about.”
Roberson has been coaching girls tennis at Asheville School for almost four years. In that time the Blues have remained a top school in the Carolina Athletic Association, and they entered the week undefeated.
Abernethy is playing No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the squad after playing No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles the previous two seasons.
She is an aggressive player and a baseliner. Her best skills are getting the ball deep and hitting it hard, making her a strong competitor in her favorite set, singles.
Sarah inherited many of Jill's good traits, her father said, like her grace and can-do spirit. Roberson said one of Sarah's greatest traits is her team-player attitude, like her mom's.
"Sarah would never talk too highly of herself or boast about her skills," Roberson said. "The only way you could get her to say her rank is by asking directly what number she plays."
Her down-to-earth approach in all aspects of life is part of what has led to her improvement over the years, according to her coach and father, who say Sarah is not afraid to admit shortcomings on and off the court.
Sarah said her weakness is coming to the net, an important skill in doubles. Her doubles partner, Rachel Kuehn, is comfortable at the net and a perfect match.
Kuehn, who plays No. 2 singles, has become one of Sarah’s best friends and motivators in the three seasons they have been paired together.
“This season I suggested experimenting and splitting them,” Roberson said. “They got so sad and said, ‘But why? We’re so good together.’
"Needless to say, I gave in, and they stayed partners.”
Abernethy and Kuehn have a skill-balance as individuals that keeps them driven to win in singles and doubles. Roberson said it sometimes seems less like a No. 1 and No. 2 ranking and more like 1-A and 1-B, which makes their bond strong, their practices fierce and their team powerful.
Abernethy said she enjoys doubles with Kuehn because she eases some of the intensity and brings the fun into tennis even on the hardest days, which adds to her list of memories from Asheville School girls tennis.
“My favorite tennis memory is actually from my freshman year,” Sarah said. “We played Cannon School in Charlotte. I’ll never forget how we beat them in a tie break, 5-4.”
That Asheville School girls team became the first to win the first round of the state playoffs.
Abernethy practices about two hours a day at school during the season and one to two hours daily outside the season. She still goes to the country club in her free time on the weekend to play with her childhood friends, who she said played a major role in the foundation for her tennis passion.
According to Roberson, Abernethy is an A student and participates in two clubs, Mitchel Cabinet and Microlending. Sarah said she holds herself to high standards and tries to do well in her dad’s eyes.
“Sarah works hard on athletics, even harder on academics,” Bill said, “and excels at both.”
Sarah Abernethy is a day student at Asheville School instead of living on campus. She said she enjoys being able to leave the school environment to come home to her family and most importantly a home-cooked meal.
The Abernethy family is supportive of Sarah’s academics and athletics. She said her father is at every match, but sometimes there are more supporters in the crowd than she bargained for.
“Every match I have at least one member of the Abernethy clan in the crowd,” she said. “But, I remember freshman year in Gastonia I had a full bleacher of family watching, making us all nervous and adding to the experience at the same time.”
Abernethy said she is excited to have her friends and family see her team potentially win a state title. Tennis has been her highlight of every year at Asheville School since her freshman year.
She aspires to play tennis in college to experience the exciting atmosphere of serious Division I competition. Roberson said she is 10-1 in singles and 11-0 in doubles and expects her to perform equally as well in a college atmosphere.
"My hope is she plays tennis in college," Roberson said, "because she would thrive on a college team and has a lot to give as an individual and a teammate."
