It’s been a bumpy ride along the tennis terrain, but Nicole Henderson is glad to be where she is today.

Last year, the Bothell High netter boasted a 12-0 record at No. 6 singles. This season, the Cougar junior climbed to the No. 1 spot and owned a 4-4 record at press time. While not undefeated anymore, Henderson welcomes the challenge of squaring off against the top players in the always tough 4A Kingco Conference.

“I think last year I was confident and I knew how to win. And that kept me going into the summer, when I played in a lot of tournaments, played some of those tough people,” Henderson said before practice last Wednesday. “I played in two (United State Tennis Association) Challenger tournaments and played different types of people with different spins on their hits. It gave me more experience and it kind of boosts your confidence, and I say, ‘I played those girls, I can play them (4A Kingco girls), too.’”

Added coach Mike Pizzo, whose team was 5-0 in league and 5-3 overall at press time: “Moving up from 6 to 1 was an eye-opener for her. She’d like to have that undefeated record she had last year, but she’s a realist and she knows that was a jump up to be even better for next year.”

Henderson first picked up a tennis racquet in seventh grade while attending the St. Brendan school. While there, she had “played any sport you can name,” and her mom urged her to try tennis to meet new people. It was a good move.

As a ninth-grader at Canyon Park Junior High, Henderson won the district singles tournament and tennis officially became her No. 1 sport.

“I went, ‘Oh, I can be good,’ considering that I hadn’t played before. There’s a great deal of natural talent in it,” said Henderson, who’s also a competitive ski racer, where she gets the footwork that is crucial on the slopes and in tennis.

In Henderson’s first No. 1 match this season, she was nervous, excited and ended up defeating her Issaquah foe, 6-2, 6-4. The Cougar netter feels she’s holding her own against some Kingco girls who play the sport year round.

“(Her skiing) gets the juices flowing. She has that competitiveness that pushes her to excel in other parts of her life, like tennis and school,” Pizzo said. “She’s also taken on leadership, she has fun, has a big smile and is always happy, but she works hard, too.”

Like skiing, Henderson enjoys the individual aspect of tennis, where she goes one on one with the course or a player on the other side of the net.

“If you win, it’s you,” she said, adding, “If you lose, it’s you.”