Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Mariah Swank, Chinook Tennis

Good things come to those who wait. In high school tennis, that can be true. But good things can also come to those who work the hardest and have a passion for the sport.

And in the spring of 2014, that's exactly what happened to Chinook's Mariah Swank. A heavy underdog at the Class B-C state tournament last May in Missoula, Swank rolled through the singles bracket until she met undefeated Paige Larson of Cut Bank in the championship match. That's where most people thought Swank's magical ride of 2014 would come to an end. But, Swank was on a roll that couldn't be stopped, not even by Larson, and the result was a Class B-C state championship in singles, and a contribution to what would become the second state team championship in Sugarbeeter tennis history.

Winning a state title as a junior was the culmination of something that started not that long ago for Swank, who, now a senior, says she began playing tennis just before the start of her freshman year of high school. She quickly picked up the game and as both a freshman and sophomore, reached the state tournament in doubles. Of course, things really took off for her last season when she became Chinook's No. 1 singles player and won the Northern B-C title – a feat she accomplished again last weekend in Havre.

And while tennis has become her sports passion, Swank, who also played four years and was 2014 Class C All-Conference in volleyball, school is certainly her passion off the court. She's a 4.0 student, senior class president and the president of National Honor Society. She's heading to Montana State in Bozeman, likely to study nursing.

But, with graduation looming, Swank has some things left to do back on the tennis court. On Thursday, she'll begin her state championship defense in Great Falls, as will the Beeters, who qualified four singles players and two doubles teams for the B-C state tournament. And while winning a state championship may have been a surprise a season ago, the mind set is much different for Swank this time around. Now, she's the undefeated favorite and she's just fine with that.

Here's five questions with Chinook's tennis standout as she gets ready to go after a rare repeat state championship.

HDN: What is your tennis background prior to high school?

Swank: "I started playing the summer before my freshman year. Thom (MacLean) would go hit with me and he got me really excited about it. I just really loved going to the courts and hitting and it really grew from there."

HDN: How did last year's state championship happen? Was it a goal at the time?

Swank: "My goal last year was to place at state. I like to win, but my attitude has always been to just work hard and have fun and not worry about winning or losing. So when I got to state, that's what I did, just tried to work hard and have fun. And I started to play really well. Once I got to the championship, it was all about Paige Larson. She was undefeated and everybody was talking about her. So I just kept my same attitude I've always had, which is to have fun and see what happens. And you know, I pulled it off."

HDN: What do you enjoy most about tennis?

Swank: "I love how you can really see yourself improving. It's like when you're trying a shot and you finally get it. Then you practice it over and over and it becomes something you can do consistently. That's a great feeling."

HDN: You have a teammate this season who really pushes you and challenges you in Brooke Nicholson. How has that been?

Swank: "Brooke is great. I'm so lucky to have her on my team. The other top girls in B-C don't have another singles player on their team like Brooke. So they don't have someone to play against like that every day. Brooke is really good and we have had some great matches this season, and we make each other better. So I hope we get to play each other one more time because that would be in the state championship match."

HDN: I imagine the goal this week in Great Falls is to do the same thing you and the team did last year?

Swank: "Being state champs last year was so cool, especially because it's B-C, so when a C school wins it, it's like wow. And everybody who scored a point for us last year is going back to state this year. So we have a great team, and the goal is to definitely do it again. That's what we want. It would be really cool to win a singles state championship and a team state championship two years in a row."