Freshman phenom Conway crowned KingCo and District 2 champ

Liberty tennis as a team won just four tennis matches all year, but for freshman Tayler Conway, she won every single match of her first high school season except one. Conway was just crowned District 2 champion a week after taking the top spot of KingCo on the singles side.

“It’s been a lot of fun. I’m just trying to enjoy it while it last because it’s not going to be here forever,” she said.

Just based off stature alone, you might not think Conway was a dominant tennis player. But boy would you be mistaken. The freshman lost just one varsity match to Amina Avdic from Lake Washington.

In the KingCo league tournament and district tournament, Conway didn’t drop a single set.

“I just take it as practice. These matches I have just been trying to have a lot of fun. That is where a lot of my (focus) has been coming from,” Conway said.

Conway is a virtual student so she doesn’t actually attend Liberty High School, but takes classes online. Due to her address, she can rock the Patriot blue and green. She was far and away the best Patriot tennis player, on the boys or girls side, this season.

She has played in tournaments across the state and the country during her career so far. One would think that a little short high school season would be a walk in the park for Conway. But there were some challenges that she wasn’t expecting.

“It was a bit different than I expected. I thought it would be nice and relaxed, but I was actually really nervous playing high school. I felt like there were more people that had more expectations of me... I was actually way more nervous for some high school matches than competition level matches,” she said.

Getting over those butterflies of the regular season have prepared her for the league and district tournament.

“That has helped me in KingCo and districts so far because I have played through most of the nerves I have had. Now I can just go out and play for fun,” said Conway.

Conway is a special talent for the Patriots and possibly could have one of the best Liberty careers since multi-World Series winner and Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. She is currently ranked inside the top 130 in the country and is the number one player in Washington and the Northwest, according to tennisrecruiting.net.

The District 2 girls singles semifinal was the same four as the KingCo League semifinals. There is also a real possibility that the 3A state semifinals could be the same four girls. Conway defeated Chloe DeGracia (Mercer Island) in the semifinals of both tournaments and got her revenge of her lone regular season loss in the second straight championship match against Amina Avdic from Lake Washington. Conway defeated Avdic in straight sets in the district title match 6-4, 6-4 and showed a lot of mental fortitude. She was able to overcome 3-4 deficits in both sets winning the final three games.

Conway is the first Patriot to make the state tournament on the girls side since Luciana Sobrino back in 2019. Sobrino took fourth in that tournament, and Conway has the skill and talent to win. But she wants to stay in the moment while she is there and not get concerned with results.

“I’m pretty excited, it’s just another step in the high school experience. I’m just gonna enjoy it,” she said.

State is held May 24-25 at the Vancouver Tennis Center.