SEABURY ACADEMY JUNIOR BROOKE SUTHERLAND hasn't let the lack of a girls tennis team at her school stop her from pursuing her sport. She is one of two girls who suit up for the Seahawks' boys team during the spring season.

Seabury Academy junior Brooke Sutherland has played on the varsity boys tennis team since her freshman year. Though impressive, that feat becomes more so when one learns she is one of two girls on the team.

Because Seabury does not have enough players to field a girls-exclusive squad during the fall, Sutherland joined the boys team three years ago.

“I had always wanted to play high school tennis and always wanted to play on a team,” Sutherland said. “Under the KSHSAA rules, if you have a coed team, it has to be a boys team.”

As the Seahawks’ No. 4 singles player, Sutherland regularly competes against boys. She relies on a forehand and a cross-court backhand, skills she began developing at the age of 4 or 5 under the guidance of her mother, Laura, who starred at Kansas City (Mo.) Barstow.

How do the boys on the Seabury team treat you?

I get a long with my teammates pretty well. They’ve all been really great. They just see me as another teammate, but some of the other boys that I play, I definitely get the eye rolls and the “I can’t believe I have to play a girl.” For me it’s just another match.

Any good stories from competing against boys?

It was funny last year at regionals. This kid wrote his phone number on a tennis ball and threw it at me, and then all of my teammates made fun of me last year. It’s still kind of a joke that we talk about all the time. We still play the kid, too.

Did you save the ball?

I think I might have it somewhere.

Another girl, sophomore Gabrielle Dillon, joined the Seahawks varsity tennis team last year. As the two girls on the team, do you have a special bond?

We were really good friends before, too. It’s fun. It’s good to have another girl there.

How did you become interested in tennis?

My mom got me started, and then I just got really into it. I liked it a lot, and I liked that it’s a mental and physical game. There’s definitely a physical component, which I think a lot of people don’t realize. I like the mental part of it too.

What skills have allowed you to excel in the sport?

A lot of times what really helps is just being able to stay focused on the match and being able to play through. There are a lot of elements – coaches talking to players and making you uncomfortable, and people watching, and there’s a lot of nerves. So just being able to stay focused on playing mentally sound and not beating up on yourself and not getting down. … When you have people running you side-to-side, you need endurance to stay in the match because when it gets to be a third-set tiebreaker, you’re going to need some strength.

I know you’re only a junior, but do you have any plans to play tennis in college?

I would really like to play in college. I really hope to. I mean, hopefully for the school team, but if not, definitely intramural and stuff like that. … I’m looking mostly at places back East: Washington and Lee University, where my dad went, and a couple of the bigger-name schools like Yale and Princeton.

What inspires you on the tennis court?

A lot of it is my mom. I really want to make her proud every time I come out onto the court. And then it’s also for me – the joy of beating someone or even just playing well – that’s just really meaningful to me.

Does your mom still swing the racket?

She still plays a lot, and she’s still good. I’ve gotten to the point where I think I can beat her.

When did you last play against her?

Last summer. We didn’t keep score then, but it went pretty well.

Any plans for a follow-up mother-daughter game?

Hopefully this summer once school gets over.