21829: (Hermantin) Sun-Sentinel-Achille finds tennis again (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Achille finds tennis again
Craig Barnes



May 11, 2004

After a standout high school career, Renaldine Achille was headed to
Grambling on a scholarship. Then her world came unglued, and she thought her
tennis career was over.

In September 1999, pancreatic cancer killed her mother, Nancy. In May 2001,
her father, Renald, injured himself and Achille's great grandmother, Lucy
Senecharles, and grandmother, Marie Sejour, in a shooting.

Achille lives with her great grandmother and grandmother.

Achille, 19, stopped playing tennis in 2002 and didn't start again until she
joined the Broward Community College team this spring.

"I really didn't think that I would play again," said Achille, who played
most of her high school career at Hollywood Hills before transferring to
Miramar in 2002, where she only played in the district tournament. "I lost
my motivation for a period."

Coach Patrick Catullo approached Achille, who at one point was a candidate
for the Haitian National Team, and told her if she could regain her game
that she could play on the team.

Achille was 11-9 at No. 6 singles and 11-6 in doubles. She rolled through
the No. 6 singles as the Seahawks won their second straight National Junior
College Athletic Association championship after a 16-10 season.

Karine Ionesco (No. 1), Leigh Shelton (No. 2) and Kristel Izquierdo (No. 4)
also won in singles as the Seahawks (25 points) edged Lee College of
Baytown, Texas, by one point.

"I feel like my mother was with me all the way," said Achille. "The
atmosphere and intensity at the nationals were different than anything I
have seen.

"I feel like my game is re-established. I want to finish my education and
keep tennis in my future for as long as I can."

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