Celebration standout was perfect against conference competition

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Gabriella “Gaby” Walton said it gets hot in Blue Springs, Mo., where she lived before moving to Celebration prior to high school.
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “Maybe not as hot as here, but hot.”
Her tennis game has warmed up, too, over the past several seasons as she worked her way up from No. 4 singles as a freshman to No. 1 for the Storm, which claimed its second consecutive Orange Belt Conference championship under Coach Robert Tripp last season.
Walton was unbeaten against county competition, making her the Osceola News-Gazette Tennis Player of the Year.
“I’ve been playing a lot at the American Tennis Club, which came in this year over at the Ramada Resort, and that has helped a lot,” she said, explaining her domination of county foes. “My serve has gotten a lot better, and that’s helped.”

Walton, who graduated in May and plans to study athletic training at UCF, was a multi-sport star at Celebration, where she also played volleyball and soccer.
Until recently, she didn’t devote a lot of time to tennis.
“I went to like 10 or 12 camps, things like that, but I never played in the juniors tournaments,” she said. “I’ll probably do that over the summer, though.”
Walton, as a freshman, watched Celebration’s Julia Huschke conclude the most successful career of any Osceola County high school tennis player at Celebration. Huschke reached the state championship match in 2005 as a junior and helped the Storm place among the state’s top five schools for consecutive seasons before earning a scholarship to the University of Maryland.
“We had strong teams while she was here. That started a tradition here, and I guess we’ve been able to continue that while I was here,” Walton said.
Walton, 10-4 overall, reached the semifinal round of the district tournament.
“I like to play the really good players, I enjoy close matches,” she said.
Walton isn’t sure if she will attempt to join the UCF tennis team, but she intends to keep playing.
“It’s something you can do all your life. I’ll at least play club tennis at UCF,” she said.

ALL COUNTY GIRLS TENNIS

Athlete of the Year: Gaby Walton (Sr., CHS).

All-county team: Celebration: Lexi Stephan (Fr.). Harmony: Anna Blanchard (Jr.).
Liberty: Gemma Perez (Sr.), Asha King (Sr.). St. Cloud: Amanda Pence (Jr.).