Marisa Rostash named Girls Tennis Player of the Year again

Marisa Rostash is taking a new path.

For the past decade, her life has revolved around tennis.

Now, she is headed for a new state for college. The recent Monroe High graduate will study nursing at The University of Alabama.

“It’s definitely an odd feeling,” she said of walking away from tennis. “I am looking forward to other things in my life.”

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Rostash left a nice legacy in the sport.

She has been chosen as the Monroe County Region Girls Tennis Player of the Year by The Monroe News sports staff, joining former St. Mary Catholic Central player Melissa DeNardo (1998-2001) as the only four-time winners of the award.

And Rastash did it in a unique way, playing her first two years at SMCC before moving to Monroe for the last two seasons.

Rostash trailed Catherine Wilcox of Ann Arbor Skyline in a Division 1 regional semifinal match when the realization hit her that the end of her tennis career was near.

“It was a surreal moment,” she said. “I remember serving and it dawned on me that this was probably my last game serving. It was emotional.”

Rostash finished 10-4 this season, giving her a 50-12 record during her high school career. She was 27-4 at SMCC and 23-8 at Monroe.

When she moved from SMCC to Monroe, she also moved up from Division 4 to Division 1. That pushed up the level of players she was facing.

“It definitely was different,” she said. “There was a lot more competition, but it was a really good challenge. It helped me.”

It didn’t help her in the state tournament.

The loss to Wilcox, who went on to win the Regional and make it to the state semifinals, stopped Rostash one match shy of qualifying for the state finals.

“We had some really good points,” Rostash said of Wilcox. “She’s a freshman, but has traveled all over the U.S. to play.”

Rostash doesn’t regret switching high schools in the middle of her career.

“I feel like I really clicked with the girls (at Monroe),” she said. “Everyone was super welcoming and Coach (Stephen) Reau was great.”

Reau believes the move benefitted Rostash and his team.

“After she came to Monroe, she made some lifelong friends,” he said. “The younger girls really looked up to her. They got some great insights seeing the amount of work she put in. She always went the extra mile.”

Rostash said the biggest development in her game came above the shoulders.

“I feel like mentally I got stronger from my freshman to senior year,” she said. “I was able to think through matches better. The toughest part is definitely the mental game.”

Reau agreed.

“She developed nicely,” the coach said. “You could tell she had a lot of years of experience. She kept a level head. She didn’t let one bad shot dictate the outcome of her matches. She hung in there like good, veteran players do.”

A perfect example came this year in the opening round of the Division 1 regional at Ann Arbor Pioneer.

Rostash was swept 6-0 by Sophia LaPointe of Bedford in the opening set, but was able to flush that disappointing result to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-1.

“Yeah, I got mad,” Rostash said of dropping a set to a player she had beaten several times in the past. “I feel like you have to be hard on yourself, otherwise you’re never going to get better.”

Rostash says she chose Alabama because she had relatives who went there in the past and she chose nursing because, “I’ve always been interested in helping people.”

The daughter of Kelli and Jim Rostash won’t leave tennis entirely.

“I’ll probably join a club team,” she said.

She is happy with her final season of high school tennis.

“I think it went really well, but it was a bittersweet ending,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Girls Tennis Player of the Year: Rostash becomes four-time winner