ROCKINGHAM – Emily Parsons, a senior on the Richmond Senior High School tennis team, has been named the second Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week for the 2018 fall sports season.
ROSports brings back its successful “Athlete of the Week” segment for the second consecutive school year, as teams are in their second week of play following Hurricane Florence. Under a new format, the feature will continue to highlight one female and one male student-athlete each week for their performance on their respective playing surfaces.
Now in her second season on the Lady Raider tennis team, Parsons has been a big part of the Lady Raiders’ current nine-match winning streak, as the team is in second place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference standings. This is Parsons’ first career selection.
Athletic Profile
Age: 17
Birthday: Dec. 14, 2000
Year: Senior
Fall Sport: Tennis
Position: No. 3 Seed
Years on Varsity: 2 Years
Height & Weight: 5-6, 180 pounds
Experience: 2 Years
“SERVING UP” THE FACTS ON EMILY PARSONS
RSHS Academics: Parsons is enjoying her final year at Richmond Senior High School, as she’s taken on a tough course load to try and get a head start on her college career. This semester, she’s enrolled in four classes at Richmond Community College, which are History 132, Math 152, Sociology 210 and Spanish 112.
Parsons is a part of the Advanced Placement and RichmondCC cluster, so she’s also tackling two AP classes this fall. Currently, Parsons is ranked No. 10 in the graduating class of 2019, and she has a 4.63 GPA. She’s taking AP Chemistry and AP European History, the latter of which is her favorite class.
“My favorite class is AP Euro with Mr. (John) Sweeney,” Parsons said.”It’s really interesting, and I’m not a big history person, but it’s really fascinating. There are some crazy things that went down in medieval European history. Mr. Sweeney finds tidbits of information and makes it cool.
“If I go into a state school for college, all of my credits should transfer,” she continued about the benefit of taking so many college and AP courses in high school. “That means I could go in as a second-semester sophomore, and my GPA will be higher because all of the classes are weighted 5.0.”
Around campus, Parsons is also involved in the National Beta Club, National Honor Society and is a member of the Future Teachers of America organization. Parsons is also the acting public affairs officer on RSHS’ senate, as her and classmate Addison Tetrault are responsible for running the senate’s social media accounts.
RSHS Sports: Parsons picked up tennis during her junior year because she wanted to stay active during the fall for her true passion — soccer. She’s been playing the sport for 13 years, and has played travel soccer locally with the Richmond Rush program.
She’s played soccer for the Lady Raiders since her sophomore year, making the varsity squad as a midfielder every season. An injury during her freshman year kept her from participating. Last season, Parsons had one goal for a Lady Raider team that set the program record for the most wins in a season with 17.
College Aspirations: Like many of her fellow seniors, Parsons is going through the process of applying to colleges as she prepares for her freshman year next fall. She’s already been accepted to Wingate University and Gardner-Webb University, and still wants to apply to UNC Chapel Hill and Elon College, where her dad and RSHS teacher and golf coach Keith Parsons attended. Her dream school is the University of Richmond in Virginia, and she’s working on applying to that school as well.
While she’s still undecided on where she’s going and what she’ll be majoring in, Parsons is eyeing to get her undergraduate degree in psychology and would like to pursue a career as a children’s defense lawyer.
Emily Parsons in action on the court this season.
Athlete of the Week Stats: During Richmond’s nine-match winning streak, Parsons has been an instrumental part of the team’s success. The team hasn’t lost since the end of August, and in that span, Parsons has played in seven of the nine matches. The only two matches she hasn’t participated in have been against Seventy-First High School, which has only brought two players to each match.
Parsons has been a part of nine total wins, six coming in singles competition, and the other three coming in doubles action. In the first three matches of the winning streak, Parsons was undefeated in singles with wins over Angie Castro (Jack Britt High School) and Nakia Stone (Hoke County High School). She also picked up an 8-3 win over Lumberton High School’s Ellen Kinlaw in her last match before Hurricane Florence disrupted play.
Back from the two-week break, Parsons notched singles wins against Scotland and Lumberton high schools last week. She also earned a singles and a doubles win (8-1 and 8-1) against Hoke, teaming up with fellow senior Greyson Way. Her only loss during the winning streak came earlier this week against a scrappy Jack Britt team.
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) What would your friends say is your most notable characteristic/or the one word to describe you:
“It’s kind of a hyphenated term, but definitely ‘mom-friend,’” Parsons laughed. “I’m the mom in my group of friends who always is the one who breaks things up. Chloe (Wiggins) and Emily (Buie) are always playing around before matches, and I try to break it up and tell them to do it after the game. The same goes with soccer — it’s pretty funny.”
2) Who is a person you look up to as a mentor and why:
“I’d have to say my dad because he’s had three different careers,” Parsons explained. “When one doesn’t work out, he’s able to adapt to another. Switching to teaching was a big leap and he did it — and it impresses me. I look up to him for that.”
3) What’s has been the best part of your senior year/season so far:
“I really like the strong sense of being a team and the camaraderie we have,” she said. “Last week was a bad week for me, but I knew I’d be smiling when I was with my teammates. We all have good relationships, and I think having a small team helps with that.”
4) If you could hang out with anyone, past or present, who would it be and why:
“Donald Trump — I just want to know what is going on inside his mind,” Parsons noted. “I’m so confused sometimes, and I’d just like to sit down with him and learn what’s going on. I think I’d want to talk about politics and ask a few different off-the-wall questions just to get to know him.”
5) Name one interesting fact that most people don’t know about you:
“When I was in first grade I accidentally stabbed myself in the eye with a pencil,” Parson grinned. “And I still have lead in my eye — it was not my best moment.
“I also sleep walk sometimes and that’s why I didn’t play (Tuesday),” she added. “I hurt my ankle the other night sleepwalking and I can’t put a lot of weight on it.”
Coach’s Corner: Way is currently in his third season as the Lady Raiders’ head coach, and has enjoyed seeing Parsons be a part of this year’s team’s success.
“More than anything, she is a consistent player and her attitude is great,” Way said of why he selected his No. 3 player. “She’s always encouraging to her teammates and is willing to help out. She’s really an asset to the team.
“Emily is a model student and a leader in the school,” he added. “She’s a member of a senate and she’s the kind of kid you want your kids to to be.”
