When Flaminia Lepri arrived in Dodge City, it didn’t take long for tennis coach David Snodgrass to realize the positive impact she could have on the program. 

Lepri, a foreign exchange student from Rome, Italy, possessed a strong skill-set on the court, as well as an infectious personality that was quickly embraced by her teammates. 

Unfortunately, Lepri’s anticipated tennis debut for Dodge was delayed by an untimely ankle injury that kept her sidelined until late September. 

“It was frustrating for her,” Snodgrass said. “You get this young lady that came halfway across the world, and one of her passions that she likes to do is tennis, and all the sudden she suffers an injury and is not able to play.”

But the setback didn’t stop Lepri from making program history for the Red Demons. 

In just three weeks on the court, Lepri, the Capitol Federal® True Blue® Student of the Week, managed to claim a regional championship and become the first Dodge City girls tennis player to advance to the second day of the state tournament. 

“I think (tennis) was one of the best things that happened since I (arrived in) America,” said Lepri, who has played the sport from an early age. “I was really happy to play with my teammates. It was so fun.”

Lepri’s injury occurred in late August, just as the Red Demons were gearing up to start playing tournaments. She rolled her ankle while doing a drill late in practice. 

“I was so sad because I couldn’t play games and tournaments,” Lepri said. “It was so frustrating because I was in crutches and I couldn’t really move good. All the exercises I did for my ankle, they were hard. It was a hard time, I think.

“I knew that I would come back at the end of the season. I was sure about that.”

Snodgrass slowly eased Lepri into competition. She made her debut on Sept. 24 in the Garden City Invitational, but had restrictions on what she could do on the court. 

“I was really nervous the first game that I played, because it was in another country with other people,” Lepri said. “Also, after the injury, I didn’t know if I could actually do it. I was really nervous because I wanted to perform. My coaches were like, ‘Yeah, you can do it.’ "

While still working her way back to 100%,  Lepri went 3-1 at the Garden City tournament, with the lone loss coming to Garden City senior Sydney Nanninga, the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year. 

Lepri took two more losses to Nanninga at the Hutchinson and WAC tournaments before getting one more chance at redemption in the regional final at Garden City. 

Recovered from the injury, Lepri pulled out a thrilling 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Nanninga to claim the regional championship. 

“When I won regionals, a lot of emotions,” Lepri said. “I didn’t expect that, because I never (beat Nanninga) when I played her before. So when I won regionals, I was so happy. I just hugged the coaches. A lot of emotions.”

“From a coach's standpoint, it was nice to see her get over that mental block, not only coming off the injury of the ankle, but also being able to beat somebody she came up short against three times," Snodgrass said. 

Lepri was eager to test her skills in the Class 6A state tournament against top-notch players on Oct. 14-15 in Wichita. She held her own, winning two matches on Friday to accomplish her main goal of reaching Day 2. 

“I think she was kind of feeling some pressure, as far as, ‘Am I good enough to get there?’ ” Snodgrass said. “It was kind of like watching her match against Nanninga at regionals. When she finally got that winning shot to put her into Day 2, there was just a sense of relief and joy. She could say she belongs with some of the top players in the state of Kansas.”

Lepri went 3-3 at the 6A tournament, placing 10th. She became the first Dodge City singles player to place at state since the early 1980s when it was a one-day tournament. 

“It was a great experience,” said Lepri, who had a 16-6 record. “At state, there were good players, and I was really happy to play with them, because it was a different type of tennis. I was really nervous, but I was happy at the same time because I played with good people.”

Outside of tennis, Lepri has also continued to pursue one of her other favorite passions while at Dodge City. 

“I think my first passion is acting,” said Lepri, who takes an acting class and is preparing to participate in forensics. “I (have acted) for years. I want to continue acting in Dodge.”

Attending school in another country was understandably a major adjustment, initially. 

“I don’t think we can compare schools,” Lepri said. “School in Italy, we have small schools. Here is a bigger school. It was really weird for me, coming to a big school like that with all these people, because in Italy it’s not like that. We have small classes and we are always with the same classmates. I think school is better here for certain things. I really like school here. It’s kind of fun sometimes.”

“At the start of the school, it was kind of hard speaking English and to make relationships with people because of the English,” Lepri added. “But then I found good people, so now I really have good friends.”

Joining the tennis team also helped her fit in quickly. 

“Her main attribute is that she has a contagious personality," Snodgrass said. “The ladies within the program were drawn to her personality. They knew that we have a very talented young lady coming in to be a part of the tennis program, but also a young lady that has a great personality and is fun-loving and enjoyable to be around.”

Following this year, Lepri will still have another year of high school in Italy. She’s still deciding on a future career path and has thought about playing tennis in college.

“I really want to come here to the American colleges if I have the opportunity,” Lepri said. “I’m trying to figure out what I really want to do, because it’s not easy. But I have another year for really deciding what I want to do.”