“I took my week off,” says Leonard, who annually allows herself a seven-day break between the end of the Salisbury High tennis season and the start of indoor track, where she competes as a miler.

After a week, though, Leonard is tired of resting. When she’s not on the track or studying, she’s making regular trips to Statesville to compete against the girls who recently knocked off Salisbury in the state semifinals and went on to win the 2A state championship.

“Playing those girls helps me keep my game up,” said Leonard. “You need to keep playing matches all the time.”

Leonard, a junior, has kept her game up so well that she’s been voted the Rowan County Player of the Year for 1999 by county coaches and sportswriters. East senior Mary Clark Roberts, the South Piedmont Conference Player of the Year, was runner-up.

Leonard was honored in part for her sparkling record (16-4 in singles, 25-2 in doubles), but more because of what she meant to a 20-1 squad.

The Hornets were eliminated in the state semis for the third straight year, but this season, they performed miracles to make it that far.

“This season wasn’t disappointing at all,” said Leonard. “I’d call it exciting. We had a lot of new girls with no experience, but the coaching staff (Rowan County Coach of the Year Bill Lee and assistant Chris Myers) turned a group of individuals into a winning team.”

Leonard was an unbeaten No. 5 player as a freshman, but that year she only had to worry about showing up on time.

As a sophomore, playing No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles, her responsibility increased. She responded with a great season, losing only one singles match.

This year, playing No. 1 singles and No. 1doubles, she completed her evolution as a prep tennis player. As Salisbury’s most experienced girl, she had to lead. For the first time, how her individual match came out became subordinate to how the team fared. Leonard lost four times in singles (three times to state runner-up Catherine Koontz of Lexington), but was always able to calmly put her racket down, cheer on her teammates, and then help her team with a doubles victory.

“I matured a lot mentally this year,” said Leonard. “That’s a big part of tennis.”

Leonard and sophomore doubles partner Tonya Fox made it to the state semifinals in the 2A individual tournament this season. Next year, they hope to go the distance in doubles and help their teammates take the title in the dual team tournament.

“We’re hoping this year was a stepping stone,” said Leonard. “Coach Lee said he’d shave his head if we won the states and Coach Myers said he’d bleach his hair blonde. We told them they’d better enjoy their haircuts now, because next year there’s gonna be a big change.”

Before you start thinking that Michelle’s life consists of little more than whacking tennis balls around, better think again.

She does interesting stuff. She’s already been to England on a Red Cross project and on a mission trip to Mexico (where there were no tennis courts to be found). She’s a regular winner at every science fair and she’s worked at the World Games. And she campaigned as hard as any teenager on the planet for Liddy Dole.

Michelle’s daydreams, when she has time for them, aren’t about nailing winners against Venus Williams at Wimbledon. What she really wants to do with her life is to go to Davidson or Wake Forest (or maybe UNC) and study to become an E.R. physician.

Tennis might provide a scholarship. If it doesn’t, her academic record certainly will. She’s currently third in her class. She says that puts her two spots behind twin brother, Justin.

Speaking of Justin, being a twin is where Michelle’s life really gets interesting.

“What’s it like to be a twin?” she giggles. “Hey, what’s it like not to be one? It’s all I know. We get along. I’d love for us to go to the same college.”

When he’s not hitting the books, Justin competes in cross country, basketball, soccer, baseball and golf for the Hornets.

“Everything but tennis,” says Michelle. “We tried to make that separation. We didn’t want any of that sibling rivalry stuff.”

Some people aren’t as smart as Justin, though. They’re the ones who keep getting on tennis courts with Michelle and getting thoroughly embarrassed.

And she’s only going to get better before her senior season.