Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year: Sherando’s Gabriella Koch | Winchester Star

Tennis has been a pillar in Gabriella Koch’s life for as long as she can remember. 

The recent Sherando graduate comes from a family of seven that loves to play the sport, as her parents and all four of her siblings enjoy wielding a racket. This support system has helped Koch mold her game over the years, culminating in a standout senior season where she moved into the No. 1 position in the Warriors’ lineup.

Koch finished the spring 16-3 in singles competition and 12-1 in doubles, while also reaching the Region 4D semifinals individually and the region finals alongside longtime doubles partner, fellow senior Katie Freilich. Because of this success, Koch is The Winchester Star Girls’ Tennis Player of the Year. 

After thriving at No. 2 singles last season, Koch said one reason she successfully transitioned into the top spot was because she increasingly allowed herself to enjoy her time on the court. 

“The biggest change for me was my change in mindset at the beginning of the season,” Koch said. “I was finally able to remind myself that I don’t choose to play tennis for recognition … I just love the game so much, and obviously the competition and physical benefits come alongside that, but I really just love the sport and the community.” 

Although she finished the year as Sherando’s top player, Koch had to work to earn the position. Freilich, a two-time Winchester Star Player of the Year in her own right, started the season as the Warriors’ No. 1 player, but Koch eventually unseated her in a challenge match.

She took over the top spot for the first time on April 16 against Millbrook and competed at No. 1 in every remaining match except on April 21 against Fauquier.  

Koch said facing Freilich in challenge matches over the past few seasons has been a consistent obstacle, and noted that her shift in mindset contributed to her finally defeating her friend and doubles partner. 

“We knew since the beginning of freshman year that we were both really close in level,” Koch said. “Obviously, I’ve encountered some tough matches throughout the season, but the hardest matches I encountered each year were my challenge matches against Katie. She’s such a good opponent in skill level. 

“[Before the challenge match] I had to remind myself that, even if I lost, I need to remember that I play fair and I try hard, so if I know I played my best, then I would [be] happy. That’s what I told myself right before the match, and then I ended up winning the challenge match. It was basically just the change in mindset of appreciating the sport for what it was, rather than trying to find my own worth in the sport [that helped me].” 

Although Freilich and Koch had to compete against each another at practice, their friendship took precedent during their Sherando careers. Koch said having a strong relationship with Freilich away from tennis strengthened their connection as teammates. 

“We’ve been really close friends since freshman year,” Koch said. “We’re neighbors, we’re co-workers, classmates, we led two clubs together. We’ve been [doubles] partners since our freshman year of high school, and it’s been so much fun working with her. We got to the point where we didn’t really need to communicate that much on the court, because we just knew exactly where [each other was] going to go, what shot they were going to hit and we know how much we can rely on each other.” 

The duo excelled in 2025, winning the Region 4D doubles championship and reaching the Class 4 state semifinals. This season, they returned to the Region 4D finals, but fell to E.C. Glass’ Tovia Carothers and Helen Grace Sackett, 6-2, 6-3. 

Koch also secured the North No. 1 seed in the Region 4D singles tournament this season and defeated Charlottesville’s Naomi Riddle 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. She eventually suffered a 6-4, 7-5 semifinals loss against Jefferson Forest’s Mallory Marsteller.

Koch said she enjoyed each chance she got to measure herself up against higher levels of competition, and Sherando head coach Jason Robertson said Koch’s determination and character has helped her succeed. 

“[Gabriella], she’s the person that’s going to grind out the point,” Robertson said. “She’s just going to hang in there, she’s going to fight through everything. She’s just strong-willed and strong in terms of being able to recover from things not going so well.

“She leads by example, but she’s also the player that can build up a teammate … if you’re a coach, she’s the player that you dream to have. She’s just a role model, she works hard in the classroom, she’s super nice to everybody and athletically just gives it everything she has.” 

Robertson also noted that Freilich is a “natural tennis player” and said she and Koch were “an incredible blend” of talent on the court together. 

While Freilich has pushed her partner to get better, Koch’s extensive family history with tennis is what she views as the strongest reason for her on-court success. 

Koch’s parents, Jon and Teresa Koch, played tennis in high school and still play in their free time now. The family lives close to Stonebrook Racquet Club in Winchester, and Gabriella said her parents would often play there while she was growing up.

Eventually, she took an interest as well, and often practiced at Stonebrook.

“Seeing their relationship and the way they were able to play tennis both competitively, but also just for the fun of it, really sparked my interest in tennis,” Koch said. “My first tennis coach was my dad … he was probably the most encouraging in me enhancing my game. Both of my parents pushed me so hard to be the honest and hardworking player that I am now. I admire them both so much on and off the court … they put so much effort and time into [me and my siblings] that I feel like any award or recognition that I received from my tennis game is attributed to them.” 

Koch said she’s still working to defeat her dad, but said she’s “finally” having strong, competitive matches against her mom. However, her younger sister Madeline is the family member who’s made her work the hardest recently. 

This past season, Madeline, a rising junior, elevated to Sherando’s No. 2 singles’ position. She finished 15-1 individually and competed alongside Gabriella in doubles four times. 

While Gabriella eventually settled in at No. 1, it was her sister who unseated her from that position for the match against Fauquier. Madeline bested both Freilich and Gabriella in challenge matches before her older sister returned the favor a few days after Sherando’s win over the Falcons. 

Gabriella said this proves how good her sister really is, and added that Madeline has consistently elevated her since joining the team. 

“Her energy and her skill, it really pushed me to be a better player, because I wanted to keep up with her,” Koch said. “​​We both know each other so well because we’ve hit so much. We take lessons together and we practice together, we both know each other’s game and I think that really made a difference in our challenge matches.

“I was also lucky to get to play doubles with her late in the season this year. We had a different kind of energy on the court, because we were just both so excited to play, especially when our parents were there to support us, which they did every match.” 

This wasn’t the first time Koch played with one of her siblings, as she was teammates with her sister Michaela when she was a freshman and Michaela was a senior. The duo competed in doubles action during Sherando’s trip to the state championship in 2023. 

“I feel so lucky to have been able to experience high school tennis with both of my sisters,” Koch said. “I was blessed enough to start off my tennis career at Sherando with Michaela for a full season, [playing doubles with her] in the state championship was a once in a lifetime experience. It’s already hard enough to be in the state championship, but as a freshman, I got to finish her tennis career playing doubles with her. We actually didn’t get to finish our match, but it was an exciting experience for me to be able to play with her.” 

Beyond her family’s influence, Koch said working as a receptionist at Stonebrook, as well as her time spent on Sherando’s cross county team, helped her hone her craft. 

Working at Stonebrook allowed her to speak with tennis players of all ages and have easy access to the club’s courts before or after her shifts. Additionally, she noted how cross country enhanced her endurance. 

“Tennis is short-distance sprints, and you do get changes and extra minutes in between games, but towards the end of the season, the heat really takes you out,” Koch said. “The matches can get really long, especially once we get to the two sets to six. I’ve seen some opponents, and even some of my teammates, really struggling with the heat. I think my cross country training has definitely helped me endure that heat, because we would run in 90-degree weather, five miles at a time.” 

While Koch was well-equipped to have a strong senior season, she still faced challenges along the way. She said an illness she dealt with in February lingered throughout the season, noting that even now there’s times she doesn’t feel at 100%. 

“We didn’t really know what sickness I had, but I had a bad cough, and I got really fatigued and really tired throughout my matches,” Koch said. “So it didn’t really help with tennis, but I was lucky enough to have a strong team that won overall. Even when I lost some of my important matches at No. 1, they really picked it up for me.”

Koch credited her coaches and teammates for helping her find the strength to push through her setbacks. Despite the illness, she was a model of consistency for a Warriors team that finished 17-1.

Although Sherando fell to Handley 5-3 in the Region 4D semifinals, Koch picked up a big win against the Judges’ Eleanor Hessberg during that match. After winning a grueling first set, 7-6 (7-3), Koch found her grove and took the second set 6-0.

This win gave Koch a 2-1 season series victory over Hessberg, who defeated her 8-5 on May 5. Koch won 8-3 on March 25.

“The last match we played against Handley, I was playing against Eleanor, and she’s a great opponent, really tough to play,” Koch said. “The first set was really mentally challenging for me because I knew I could win it, but the score was just so close, and she is just a great opponent. Once I was finally able to win that first set, I really felt like I was taking over the court a lot better than that first set. The second [set], I just felt a lot more confident in myself and my shots, and I’m really proud of how I was able to just take control of the points and win the match.” 

Although her Sherando career has concluded, Koch isn’t planning on being done with tennis anytime soon. She’ll be attending Virginia Tech in the fall and plans on finding a new avenue to compete on the court.  

“My older sister, Michaela, is actually at Virginia Tech right now,” Koch said. “She did club tennis her freshman and sophomore year of college, and she really enjoyed that. So I can’t wait to try out for that, because it’s competitive and you get to make a community. I definitely want to join to keep hitting and keep myself surrounded with the tennis world.”

Reflecting on her career at Sherando, Koch explained why tennis resonates with her.

“It’s so different from any other sport,” Koch said. “There’s no referees, no timeouts, no substitutions and every point just depends entirely on you. It’s not just a challenge between you and your opponent; it’s also just a challenge between you and yourself. I think that’s something I realized that helped me come to terms with my season this year and just enjoy the sport, because it’s such a battle and such a mental game. You need the physical endurance, but also just the mental toughness and adaptability and strategy all together, along with a fair attitude.

“I definitely don’t plan on stopping playing tennis. I want to play for the rest of my life.”