MADISON, Wis. -- The fall high school state tournament season is just around the corner and Madison West Senior Rachel Margolies will be a name that people will be talking about. In 2008, she finished 4th at state, but that's only part of the story and she is hoping to do even better.

Margolies started playing tennis when she was just 5 years old. She has qualified three times for state and has more than 80 career wins.

"Tennis is really fun. I just love to compete a lot and there's nothing like that feeling when I am in the zone and playing well. Its awesome," said Margolies.

"She is really focused and hard working," said coach Peter Dermody. "I always go back to the story of when she was a freshman competing at the state tournament and all the fans were there to watch her and I never saw her look up into the stands. She just goes out and plays the match and when its over she's back to being a normal kid."

Margolies' tennis journey has not been easy. She missed most of her junior year with a broken foot and only played in three conference matches, but still made it back to state.

"It was so hard to be on the sidelines and being a spectator to the sport that I love, so, I was just really religious with my crutches and rehab. I just learned that when you miss something you love so much that you have to work hard to get back."

In a few weeks, Margolies hopes she can achieve both individual and team success.

"It would definitely be amazing to get to team state again especially since I'm a senior and we actually have five seniors on the team, so, it would be a really great way to end our high school careers on team state."

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