Submitted Photo Izzy Heacox Warren’s Izzy Heacox has turned a stellar high school tennis career into an opportunity to continue her college career at Division II California University of Pennsylvania starting in the fall.

Izzy Heacox loves proving people wrong.

“Izzy is the first player since 2012 to sign D2 from the Warren tennis programs,” said Warren head coach Thomas Pellegrino. “There is no one more deserving of this than Izzy. She was the heart and soul of our girls team the last couple years and was a great captain and leader. She helped lead the Dragons to back-to-back D10 finals, was a D10 doubles semifinalist this year, and currently holds the most varsity doubles wins in the program since the late ’90s.”

With an aggressive game, Izzy doesn’t mind playing the underdog role. She doesn’t mind tough competition, which she’ll get at Division II California University of Pennsylvania starting this fall.

“The thing I love most about playing tennis is the feeling after winning a big match that we weren’t projected to win,” she said. “Like my sophomore year when we beat Fairview for the first time in 20 years, and then the next year when we beat Mercyhurst Prep and McDowell for the first time in years, and finally making it into the D10 final.

“I knew I wanted to play tennis the summer before freshman year, thanks to my friend, Iris, who decided to play as well,” said Heacox. “Originally, I played tennis as a fun sport and to try something new. I had no intention of going this far in the beginning.

“I felt as if I would be ready to play tennis in college, skillfully and emotionally, going into the summer of my senior year,” she said. “It was really a sudden decision, and I wasn’t really set on playing tennis until I decided I wanted to go to Cal U.

“It has always been a thought in the back of my mind, but my coach, Thomas (Pellegrino), brought it up to me in the spring, and I never really thought that it was an option for me until then,” she said.

That might have something to do with the fact Warren doesn’t have year-round tennis opportunities.

“When the weather is bad, we have to travel to Lakewood (New York) and pay the court fees to practice,” she said.

Opportunities are now opening up.

“In the beginning of my college search, I had no intent to play tennis until I realized it was a possibility to go somewhere I enjoyed and to play,” said Heacox, who will major in chemistry or biochemistry with a future in dentistry. “Thomas had brought up Cal U as one of the possibilities and I took a tour over the summer and fell in love with the campus and program.

“My biggest overall influence has been my coach, Thomas,” said Heacox. “He has put so much time and effort into me and my teammates. He’s one of the main reasons I fell in love with the sport as he instilled a passion into our team and we played every match to make him proud. Another big influence has been my teammate and one of my best friends, Iris (Kiehl). She makes me want to be a better person and player. She has done amazing things in her tennis career that are truly inspiring and she has played a big role in my life.

“I see myself in the future going to college for six to eight years and earning a medical degree,” she said. “I hope to always play tennis and to enjoy it for the rest of my life.”

While the Dragons couldn’t get past Cathedral Prep for the district championship, Heacox was part of last year’s D10 champion WAHS diving team. She earned a fifth-place individual medal at the District 10 2A Diving Championships as a junior.

“As much as I enjoyed diving and loved the team, something about tennis clicked and I love that there is constant room to improve and the competition,” said Heacox. “The feeling after winning as a team or watching your teammate win a close three-set match to get an overall win is one of my favorite feelings.”

It didn’t hurt that this year’s tennis team was arguably the best in school history.

“I started playing tennis my freshman year and I fell in love with the sport as I had an amazing coach that cared about every person on the team and their improvement,” said Heacox. “He gave our team so many opportunities for growth and I tried to take as many as I could. My sophomore year was the first year I started in a varsity match and I fell in love with the competitive team aspect of tennis. Every year, I kept trying to improve and all the work my teammates and I put in paid off my senior year, having the best girls tennis team in Warren history.”