NOELLE TATE

makes her own mark, joins siblings Joey and Bethany on the JIC series and beyond

Elm City, NC’s Noelle Tate is not a teenager yet, though she will be in April. This means, among other things, that she’ll probably need to buy new shoes before you’re through reading this profile of her. She won the ‘Which Tate family member will be the subject of our next Junior Player profile” sweepstakes when, competing in the 18U (not her more age-appropriate 13U) Division championships of the Junior International Championships (JIC) in Norfolk, VA last November, she defeated her older sister Bethany (15, this month) in the semifinals.

Then, four days before Christmas (possibly when she got her most recent pair of shoes), she did it again, the hard way, so to speak. Bethany had defeated her in the opening round of a 20U Girls, non-JIC event called “When the Smoke Clears” at Wolf’s Den in Roanoke, VA. But after falling to Sofia Mast in the battle for the hot seat, Bethany found herself, once again, in a semifinal battle with her younger sister. Noelle battled her to double hill and did end up advancing to the finals. Sofia Mast, who was profiled here in the middle of the JIC’s inaugural 2021 season and also competes in both the 13U & 18U Girls divisions, defeated Noelle in both finals.

Adding to her growing list of notable accomplishments, Noelle opened the third JIC series last month by coming from the loss side to chalk up a win in the 13U Girls division. It should be noted, giving sister Bethany her ‘due,’ that at that same event, Bethany knocked her sister out of the 18U Girls division event. The two sisters (along with older brother, Joey) are part of a very close-knit family, so the rivalry between them doesn’t create any serious kind of discord on the home front. That said, discussing the rivalry in any direct way, like asking Bethany how it ‘felt’ to be defeated by her