Rochester Century's Jessie Aney Goes Undefeated Against The Boys

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you watch Jessie Aney, the biggest difference you will see is the clothing she wears.

"She hits as hard as the guys are out there. She moves as well, if not better, than most of the players she plays out here," coach Nick Crossley said. "And in tangibles, she's a ten out of ten."

Aney is believed to be the first girl to ever make it to the Minnesota boys' state tennis tournament.

"I think it's been good. I think people have exceeded expectations from the way that they've accepted a girl playing boys' high school tennis," Aney said.

She won the girls state tournament title as an eighth grader and hasn't played high school tennis since – preferring to focus her blossoming career on national tournaments.

Now a senior at Rochester Century, she decided to challenge herself and try to beat the boys.

"In general they hit harder, serve is better, just kind of stronger players, I guess," she said. "They're a lot more aggressive as well. I don't know if you've watched me play at all against the guys, but I'm playing defense most of the time (laughs)."

She must play good defense because Aney is undefeated, beating every boy she's played this season.

"I don't really think about whether I'm going to win or lose, even during the match. I think I just try to keep with their head and just deal with the situation in front of me," Aney said.

The situation in front of her now is a situation a girl in Minnesota has never been in before.

"I guess it's pretty cool to be the first," she said. "I'm just going to go up there and try my hardest, and we'll just see how it goes."

Aney signed a letter of intent last year to play for the University of North Carolina after she graduates.