Gabby Nunez began her tennis career at Jim Thorpe with two simple goals - learn and improve.

There were no thoughts of one day captaining the team, qualifying for the district tournament, or winning postseason awards.

Nunez was just happy to be on the team.

“I had very little tennis experience when I went out for the team my freshman year,” recalled Nunez. “When I was in seventh and eighth grade, I went to a couple of camps that coach (Norb) Lienhard ran for the elementary school kids to introduce them to the sport. That was the only tennis I had ever played.”

Nunez joked that if she had played at a different school it might have been a short career.

“I’m just glad coach didn’t make cuts because I was definitely toward the bottom of the roster my freshman year,” she said. “I got to play in one doubles match the entire season.”

But even though she didn’t get much court time on “match day,” she made sure she got the most out of every practice day.

“I tried to learn as much as I could from coach and from the other players on the team,” Nunez said. “My only goals were to learn as much as I could about the game and try to get a little bit better every time I went on the court.”

Those goals served her well not only as a freshman, but throughout her career.

During the past four seasons, Nunez kept learning and kept improving.

This past season, she wrapped up her Olympian tennis career playing No. 1 singles and being named the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Girls Tennis Player of the Year.

“I really couldn’t have even imagined this (being named Tennis Player of the Year) when I decided to go out for the team as a freshman,” Nunez said. “But I have received great coaching throughout my career. I had coach Norb for my first three years, and he’s the one who taught me the game.

“Then coach (Sam) Lux took over at Jim Thorpe for my senior year and he’s been a huge help to my game as well.”

According to Lux, Nunez deserves much of the credit for her rise from a little-used freshman to an award-winning senior.

“Gabby has such a great work ethic,” he said. “Norb did a great job with her. She is really fundamentally solid.

“I think the biggest thing I tried to do was help her stay confident. It’s a big step up to play No. 1 singles. You face a lot of really good opponents. I think as the season went on, Gabby started to trust her game more. She won some big matches, and I think that helped her be a much more confident player on the court.”

Nunez’s gradual climb up the Olympian lineup shows the improvement she made throughout her career.

After playing just one match as a freshman, she made the varsity lineup at No. 2 doubles as a sophomore. She made the singles lineup as a junior, playing in both the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. This year, she made the jump to the No. 1 singles spot.

“I feel like I made steady improvement in my game during my first three years, but I definitely think this past offseason is when my game made the biggest jump,” Nunez said. “I put a lot of work in, got some great coaching, and played some really good competition. All of those things combined to help me become a much better player this season.”

Nunez’s offseason included lessons from Lienhard at Valley Royale Tennis Club in Lehighton, clinics at Winning Touch Tennis in Allentown, and as much court time as she could find to fine tune her game.

This past season she served as team captain, had a 10-6 singles record, qualified for the District 11 Class 2A Singles and Doubles Tournaments, and led Jim Thorpe to a berth in the District 11 Team Tournament.

“This season was so much fun,” said Nunez. “I knew coming in that if I was playing my best I had a chance to be in the No. 1 singles position, so I definitely set that as a goal.

“To be able to accomplish that goal and then have some success in the position is something I’m extremely proud of doing.”

But as proud as Nunez was with her individual achievements this season, they aren’t what she’ll remember most about her senior year.

“When I was a freshman I wasn’t very good,” said Nunez. “But I remember how helpful and encouraging the upperclassmen were to me and how they went out of their way to make sure I was improving and having fun. I really appreciated that.

“So I tried to do that for the younger players on the team this year. Whether it was answering questions, giving them some pointers when they asked, or encouraging them at practice, I tried to be a leader on the team. I think that’s a great tradition we have in our program and I was thrilled to be able to pass it forward.”