Not a cold sweat, not a single stomach somersault or a wobbly knee.

Nothing.

“Why don’t I? I don’t know. I just don’t,” said Kohagen, a Cary Academy junior.

Maybe it’s because she’s already envisioned beating her opponent. Or because she has worked out a strategy that will slow down a blistering forehand. Or maybe it’s because she’s just that good and subconsciously she knows it.

This season Kohagen,16, went undefeated at No. 1 singles for Cary Academy and was elected player of the year and all-conference of the Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference and all-state of the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association — for the fourth year in a row.

Still, the ever-humble Kohagen insists it’s not as effortless as she makes it look.

“It’s not easy for me to keep winning,” Kohagen said. “Some of the matches are hard.”

Even though Kohagen is expected to win every time she steps onto the court, CA coach Maura Zarnik said how she responds when she is not winning is part of the reason why she’s such a tremendous player.

“You don’t ever want to take anybody for granted but she is definitely expected to win and there have definitely been times when she’s not winning but she doesn’t emotionally fall apart,” Zarnik said. “She just regroups, tries different things and just figures it out.”

Kohagen doesn’t throw tennis rackets or have John McEnroe meltdowns. She is a focused a player who doesn’t let her emotions get the best of her. She said she doesn’t concentrate on the points she loses but rather thinks about what she did wrong and corrects it.

“Kirsten has an amazing attitude on the court,” freshman Tiffany Williams said. “She keeps her cool. She is never frustrated and if she is, she never lets her opponent see her frustration. If she is down love-one or up love-one her facial expression is the same.”

Nothing rattles Kohagen, on or off the court. Her coach said she approaches a bad grade the same way she approaches a bad hit: keeps her composure and methodically works through it. And with AP chemistry, AP German, AP English and honors pre-calculus on her schedule, there’s a lot to work through.

“I have to say when I think about Kirsten it’s really her work ethic, whether it’s in the classroom or offseason tennis or whatever she does, she has an amazing sense of drive,” Zarnik said.

Kohagen started playing tennis eight years ago because her dad needed a new racket. They went to the Raleigh Racquet Club, got a new racket and signed her up. Countless clinics and private lessons later, she plays year-round and is No. 2 in the 18s age group in North Carolina USTA rankings. She plays in roughly 10 to 12 national tournaments a year and hopes to be playing at a university in two years.

Even though Kohagen’s competition is much more intense in the national tournaments, she said she gets something different out of playing for Cary Academy.

“Mainly it’s just a lot of fun being with the team because when you’re playing a match with a team you have the whole team cheering you on and supporting you,” Kohagen said. “At a tournament you just have your friends at the tournament. It’s not the same because its real individual and then playing on a team makes it a team sport and you don’t get that anywhere else in tennis.”

Kohagen started playing for Cary Academy when she was a seventh grader. Even though all her accolades didn’t come until she was an eighth grader, she said there was no resentment from the seniors.

Although opponents would often ask how old she was and yell out, ‘I can’t believe I’m losing to a 4-year-old.’

“Everyone was pretty impressed with her, it’s hard not to be,” Zarnik said.

Zarnik said even back then the older teammates would look to Kohagen as their leader. She said age doesn’t matter in tennis, only ability and Kohagen proved that many times over. Kohagen is still the Chargers’ leader, although now she is the upperclassman mentoring to the young players, like Williams.

Williams, 14, moved to Cary this year from Hilton Head, S.C., and on the first day of tryouts in August Kohagen introduced herself.

Williams was immediately struck by her friendliness and the two became friends. Williams said Kohagen is a great role model and has made her a better tennis player.

“She has helped my game by me watching her play and everything she does, her strokes, her strategy,” Williams said. “When I’m out there and miss a shot she helps me on what I can do better. She encourages me.”

Kohagen mostly leads by example and isn’t an in-your-face type of person.

“I think she feels a little uncomfortable maybe standing in front of the whole group and saying, ‘Come on guys let’s go,’” Zarnik said. “But what she does is individual throughout the hallways and the season. She’s definitely not quiet and she’s definitely interactive but not in a big group setting, it would be more one-on-one.”

And even though she is expected to do a lot — lead, mentor, win — Kohagen rarely feels the pressure. She isn’t worried that every match she plays, her opponent is gunning for her or that anyone rarely roots for the consistent achiever.

“I know that not everyone wants me to win just because probably I’m number one or whatever,” Kohagen said. “I just have to do my best. Just be playing for myself and not for other people.”