Kaiserslautern's Abby Hover hits the ball during the girls singles final against Sigonella's Charlize Caro at the DODEA European tennis championships on Oct. 26, 2024, at T2 Sports Health Club in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Coming Sunday: Athletes of the Year in cross country.

Kaiserslautern’s Abby Hover could read people’s minds when she went onto the courts this fall.

Hover stepped into the Raiders’ No. 1 singles position this fall, taking over for Stella Schmitz, who didn’t play her senior year and ended a stretch of five consecutive girls crowns won by a Schmitz sister, starting with Aiva in 2018.

So, when Hover entered the 2024 DODEA European tennis championships as the top seed, she sensed the doubt from everyone in the DODEA European tennis scene.

“It was not necessarily (that I’m) vulnerable, but it’s more like, ‘Can she hold that spot? Can she throughout the season show that she’s No. 1 girls singles?’” Hover said.

“There was pressure, but it also held me up to the standard of, ‘OK, I do really want to go far and I want to go to Europeans.’ I want to be able to represent our school by winning it again like it has happened in the past five years.”

Hover silenced the doubters and made it six individual girls singles European crowns for Kaiserslautern at the T2 Sports Health Club on Oct. 24-26 in Wiesbaden, Germany. And for that, she has been named Stars and Stripes’ girls tennis Athlete of the Year.

Despite not having the pedigree as her predecessors, Hover was no slouch. The senior had won the girls doubles title her first three years of high school – her freshman year with Stella Schmitz and her sophomore and junior campaigns with Alisa Dietzel.

Still, going from No. 1 doubles to No. 1 singles was a challenge. Hover credited her parents, Lisa and Andrew Hover, and her coaches, Elizabeth and Gary Martin, for helping her grow into the role.

“You don’t really have someone in singles to lift you up if you are feeling down,” Hover said. “It’s primarily it’s on you and your playing ability. So, it’s definitely a big shift, but I was able to adjust to it throughout the year.”

And she made the adjustment quickly, starting with her opening match of the season against Stuttgart’s Bella Farias. From there, Hover didn’t lose a single set, let alone a match.

Then, in the European tournament, she had lost just four games through the semifinals – two to Vicenza’s Ava Parker in pool-play and two to Farias in a 6-2, 6-0 semifinal victory.

In her way at the final stage was Sigonella senior Charlize Caro, who finished runner-up in 2023.

And while Hover won in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), it wasn’t easy. In fact, their match lasted the longest of all the championship bouts, and Hover said she looked over her shoulder at one point and saw the entire DODEA European tennis contingent had migrated over to the far court to watch her and Caro play.

Late in the second set, Hover squandered an opportunity to close out the match at 5-4 and found herself trailing 6-5. The Raider ace recovered, forced a tiebreaker and scored three straight points to pull away for the victory.

Hover praised Caro for her play in the final.

“She was definitely my hardest opponent, but it was the most fun to play her because there was so much passion on that court and so much determination to win and it was a really fun match,” Hover said.

Winning any title, let alone a European crown, never was on the mind of Hover when she first picked up a racket eight years ago in Hawaii.

Her mom signed her up for lessons with a coach, and Hover said she needed some time to warm to the sport and be motivated to play.

She still feels that drive today, even if she only plays leisurely going forward. Hover said she hasn’t committed to pursuing collegiate tennis.

“You probably wouldn’t have been able to convince 9-year-old, 10-year-old me that I would be in the position I am today because I didn’t believe I would progress as much as I did in my tennis career,” Hover said. “Now that I have, it still feels surreal, but all the hard work that I’ve put into tennis that it really did pay off.”