Issue Date: 5/8/06
Queen Of The Court
By Scott Neth
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For Palomar College sophomore Anne Petit, the will to win is a quality that has become more than just the attitude she has about sports.
The desire to be competitive and to do her best is something that Petit has made a part of her everyday life, and she has taken her motto and played it to perfection.
"I've always been a fighter," Petit said. "I've always wanted to let everyone know I was here. I always give 100 percent."
Petit joined the Palomar tennis team in 2005 season and never lost a match that year, and helped her team to place first in the Pacific Coast Conference. And if her first season wasn't impressive enough, Petit has backed it up with a second, undefeated record this season.
Petit credits her success and never-say-die attitude to her parents, who themselves played competitive tennis in Petit's native country of France.
"I wanted to play like my parents and be competitive," Petit said. "They told me to never give up, no matter what happens, and that you've always got to try and break the other person's game."
Both Petit's parents and her two older brothers were tennis players when she and her family still lived in France. Although Petit herself never took any formal lessons, she played tennis on and off for about seven years before moving to the United States with her dad in 2000.
Once in the States, Petit attended Poway High, where she played two years of junior varsity girl's tennis and received the honor of most valuable player during both years. Petit went on to play on the varsity team in her senior year, but didn't expect to be playing college tennis when she graduated in 2004. However, once she joined Palomar's team, Petit figured out that playing and playing to be the best was her only option.
"It's like another state of mind," Petit said describing her feeling while she's on the court. "I'm such a competitive person, and I wanted to find out what it was like to be No. 1."
Petit did find out what it was like to be No. 1, and remembers a game she played in her freshman season that made her realize that she was a serious threat in any match she entered. The match pitted Petit against the No. 1 player from Grossmont College, whose women's tennis team had claimed the last four state championships in a row. Petit won the match, which made her one of only two members of her team to qualify for that year's regional championships.
The desire to be competitive and to do her best is something that Petit has made a part of her everyday life, and she has taken her motto and played it to perfection.
"I've always been a fighter," Petit said. "I've always wanted to let everyone know I was here. I always give 100 percent."
Petit joined the Palomar tennis team in 2005 season and never lost a match that year, and helped her team to place first in the Pacific Coast Conference. And if her first season wasn't impressive enough, Petit has backed it up with a second, undefeated record this season.
Petit credits her success and never-say-die attitude to her parents, who themselves played competitive tennis in Petit's native country of France.
"I wanted to play like my parents and be competitive," Petit said. "They told me to never give up, no matter what happens, and that you've always got to try and break the other person's game."
Both Petit's parents and her two older brothers were tennis players when she and her family still lived in France. Although Petit herself never took any formal lessons, she played tennis on and off for about seven years before moving to the United States with her dad in 2000.
Once in the States, Petit attended Poway High, where she played two years of junior varsity girl's tennis and received the honor of most valuable player during both years. Petit went on to play on the varsity team in her senior year, but didn't expect to be playing college tennis when she graduated in 2004. However, once she joined Palomar's team, Petit figured out that playing and playing to be the best was her only option.
"It's like another state of mind," Petit said describing her feeling while she's on the court. "I'm such a competitive person, and I wanted to find out what it was like to be No. 1."
Petit did find out what it was like to be No. 1, and remembers a game she played in her freshman season that made her realize that she was a serious threat in any match she entered. The match pitted Petit against the No. 1 player from Grossmont College, whose women's tennis team had claimed the last four state championships in a row. Petit won the match, which made her one of only two members of her team to qualify for that year's regional championships.
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