June 17, 2021
When Amber Washington ’12 first joined the tennis team at MPA as a seventh grader in 2006, she could not have known the record setting career she would go on to have. Washington’s older sister Taylor had played tennis at MPA and led the Panthers to two state team championships, and the younger Washington knew she had big shoes to fill. Those shoes would take her far.
Fast forward to 2011. Washington had just made history by winning her sixth state championship and setting a state record for most tennis championships in a career with four in doubles and two in singles.
“It hasn’t quite sunk in with me yet on what I’ve done,” she told the Pioneer Press after winning. “I’m sure I’ll understand it a lot more a couple of years from now, but this is something I really wanted to do to close out my career.”
Washington won a state championship every year she was on the team and amassed an incredible 177-6 record playing for the Panthers, including undefeated 28-0 seasons as both a junior and senior.
Like her older sister, she was also a member of the Panthers’ track and field team. Washington earned three varsity letters in track and appears on the top ten list in the 200m and 4x100m relay.
With her six state championships and a wealth of Tri metro all-conference awards, captainships and varsity letters across two sports, Washington was an easy pick for the 2012 Athena Award winner, given to the MPA female athlete of the year.
Following her unparalleled career at MPA, Washington chose to compete collegiately at St. John’s University in New York City. She spent her first two years as a member of the Red Storm women’s tennis team, and in the Spring 2013 season, she won 12 matches, the most for a freshman in a single season at St. John’s since 2008.
As a junior, Washington transferred to the University of Pittsburgh where her older sister Taylor had played. She enjoyed tremendous success at Pitt. She won five matches versus individuals on teams ranked in the top 25 and finished her 2016 season with an impressive 26-8 singles record, winning eight of her last nine matches. For her efforts, she was named all-ACC third team, becoming the first Pitt tennis player to earn all-ACC honors since they joined the conference in 2013.
“What a tremendous honor and accomplishment for Amber to finish her career being recognized as a top player in this conference,” head coach Alex Santos told PittsburghPanthers.com. “Amber’s passion for tennis is unmatched and her talent is without a doubt unique. She has worked very hard to put herself in this position. She competed with tremendous passion and those two factors always lead to special things.”
Washington graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media Studies in 2016 and now plays professional tennis and works in management.
