The roster for Columbus High School’s girls tennis team shows four athletes who share two surnames. It’s not a misprint. Two sets of sisters are playing for the Blue Devils this tennis season.
Madelyn and Caroline Boren and Abby and Mary Weston Courville are the siblings on the team. Madelyn Boren and Abby Courville are seniors at Columbus High, Caroline Boren is a sophomore, and Mary Weston Courville is a freshman.
The four young women have been playing tennis for a combined total of 44 years. They were friends before they all landed at the same high school, according to Traci Courville, mother of Abby and Mary Weston. She also noted that the girls have been playing the sport together since the older girls were about 12 years old. Since that time, both the Boren and Courville sisters have racked up quite a list of accomplishments as tennis athletes, including numerous honors and awards.
Abby and Madelyn have made the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer’s All-Bi-City list for tennis each year of their high school careers. Madelyn was named the Ledger-Enquirer’s Player of the Year as a sophomore. The seniors are team co-captains with Madelyn playing #1 singles and Abby #1 doubles.
Caroline Boren plays #2 singles on the team and made the All-Bi-City list last year. This is Mary Weston’s first year playing high school tennis, but she has already gained quite a reputation on the tennis circuit. As a participant in the 14-and-under age group in tournament play, she ranked in the top ten in Georgia; the top 25 in the Southern Section, which encompasses 10 states; and the top 200 in the nation. She currently competes in the Girls 16s and has state, sectional, and national rankings.
All four tennis athletes agree that their primary reason for choosing to attend Columbus High School was based on the academic standards of the school. Madelyn confirms the tennis program at CHS was a bonus that came with the decision.
Academics might have been top priority in selecting a high school to attend, but the younger sisters say having an older sibling at the school sealed the deal. Caroline Boren feels the arrangement has been beneficial for her right from the beginning. Her big sister’s presence helped ease freshman anxieties.
“It was familiar,” Caroline said. “I already knew someone here, and I already knew people she (Madelyn) was hanging out with, so it was good for me.”
Abby and Mary Weston have played tennis together practically all their lives. Going to high school together was sort of a natural progression. Being siblings, though, doesn’t mean things are always great. Having your little sister around so much can be difficult.
“I don’t mind it,” Abby said.
Being the younger sibling sometimes has its own problems. Often, people make comparisons to the older family member, or there is a lack of identity other than being someone’s little sister. Mary Weston said she is OK being known as Abby’s sister and that playing tennis adds to the relationship.
“It gives us something to talk about, something to have in common,” Mary Weston said.
When asked if any of the sisters were competitive with each other, fingers immediately pointed to the Boren sisters.
“They are more so than we are,” Abby said with a laugh.
Madelyn Boren owns up to the accusation.
“I am really, really competitive,” Madelyn said.
The two seniors made their college decisions and will not be playing tennis at the next level. Caroline is leaving her options open. As a sophomore, she has a little more time to see how her game fits into college plans. Of the four girls, only Mary Weston is definite about pursuing college athletics.
Abby, Madelyn, and Caroline were part of Columbus High’s team that had a 15-5 record last season and made it to the Class AAAAA second round. The addition of Mary Weston improves the odds of making it all the way to the winner’s circle.
“We had a really strong team last year, and she only adds to that strength,” said MikelAnna Hill, head girls tennis coach, of the younger Courville sister.
Now in her fourth season as head coach at CHS, Hill thinks it unusual to have two sets of siblings playing on a team. She feels the Boren and Courville sisters not only bring talent to the tennis program, but also enhance the team concept.
“They bring knowledge of each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Hill said. “They can encourage and help each other while challenging each other at the same time. They bring a sense of family to our team, and the other players on the team join right in. We are a really close group, and I think it shows on and off the court.”
So, do the girls behave more like sisters or teammates when it comes to playing tennis?
“I see a little bit of both,” Hill said. “At practice, they sometimes seem more like siblings, but during matches, they are definitely teammates.”
Columbus Valley/Feature article/April 2016
Two sets of sisters playing tennis
Columbus High School
Columbus, GA
By Beth Welch
Photos by Jerry Christenson
