Princeton resident claims Pennington’s first crown
By: Justin Feil
One of the main reasons that Adrienne Markison decided to attend The Pennington School was the chance for more individual attention in the classroom.
The Princeton resident earned plenty of new attention outside of it after becoming the first player to ever win a flight at the Mercer County Tournament. Markison set the bar high by claiming gold at first singles Wednesday.
"It means a lot to me," said Markison after her 6-1, 6-2 win over Priya Joshi of Princeton High School. "My coach, Mrs. (Heather) Bailey, is really happy. All the teachers and administrators are happy. It feels good to be the first to do that. It means a lot."
Winning is nothing new to Markison, who developed quickly into a promising player after picking up the game as a 5-year-old while her family lived in Europe. She is ranked eighth in the USTA Middle States 18-and-under girls. It wasn’t long after coming to Princeton and attending The Chapin School that she turned all her attention to tennis and started to see results.
"I used to play soccer," she said. "I stopped doing that when I wanted to play competitive tennis. I started competitive tennis around 11. I decided to focus on only tennis. By 12, I was playing 12-and-under tournaments."
Markison has steadily climbed the ladder at the MCT, though she has been at first singles for the Red Raiders since her freshman year. As a freshman, she fell to eventual champion Victoria Vaynberg in the first round. As a sophomore, it was 2006 Stuart Country Day graduate Kathryn Kitts who eliminated her. Last year, she placed third after falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Jacqueline Wong of West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
In an MCT that was otherwise hotly contested match by match, there was no stopping Markison this year. She did not lose even one game until she reached the final.
"Being the No. 1 seed, I knew I was going to make it through," she said. "I knew I’d have tough matches though. The last one was my toughest."
The win was reassurance that years of devotion have paid off. In the last year, Markison has upped her training. She is traveling over an hour to Radnor, Pa., where she trains under the guidance of Ruth Dickinson four times per week. It’s helped her fine-tune her game that has grown through the years.
"Definitely my forehand," Markison said. "Coming into this, my coach and I have been working on keeping balls deep, working on my forehand and getting short balls. This title shows the results of what I’ve been working on."
Markison is hoping to remain flawless this season while helping Pennington contend for the Prep B state championship. She is in a bigger role this year as a team captain along with fellow senior Stacy Mackin.
"This year, it’s a lot different," Markison said. "It’s a lot different as a senior. You’re definitely a leader of the team. And this is the first year that Pennington ever had a JV team. So there are a lot of girls playing tennis and we’re trying to help them."
Markison is a shining example of how far hard work can take them. Markison may be in her second decade of playing, but she’s far from finished. She is eyeing playing in college. After all these years of competing, she can’t stop now.
"It is the biggest part of my life," she said. "It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. It’s well worth it."
Especially when it results in an historic first place, as it did for the first time for a Pennington player on Wednesday. Adrienne Markison was happy to be that first-timer, the first Red Raider player to earn a little extra attention after winning a county gold medal.

