Cedarville University Yellow Jackets

Apr. 29, 2015

Leaving It On The Court

It’s crazy to think that this is my final blog for our women’s tennis team!

Before I get all sappy, let me just take a moment to tell you about how we became G-MAC CHAMPS on Saturday. First of all, not only did our #2 doubles earn a great win against Davis & Elkins, but #1 doubles had us on our toes in their win. Our dynamic duo, Court and Lil came back from being down 7-4 to win five games IN A ROW! They played incredibly tough and won 9-7.

That momentum really kept our team going into singles. Kristen and Elise won their matches 6-3, 6-3 each. Three of our singles matches were going on at one time. It all came down to one more match for the win. Davis & Elkins is a very tough team and we knew that if we were going to win, we needed to leave everything on the court. And we definitely did that.

Maryssa got her first set win under her belt quickly. After splitting sets and heading into the third, we were not sure what was going to happen. Maryssa has such great stamina on the court and she really kept her composure out there. Through all the cheering, she won the third set 6-2 and won the championship for our team! It was the best way to end our season! We could not have been so successful if it wasn’t for everyone on our team working together to encourage one another and play our best. I am so proud of our team!

I know I say every time that each season flies by, but really, these past four years have absolutely flown by! I cannot believe that Lil, Court, Rys, and I will be graduating! I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am for my experience on the tennis team. The friendships I have made have been invaluable. I will definitely miss Bible study every Wednesday as we learned more about God and about each other. I will cherish the memories I have with all of the girls.

Growing up, my dad always told me before every match to "leave it out on the court," meaning to give it my all and have no regrets no matter if I won or lost. I know that throughout these four years, all four of us seniors gave it our all for the team. There have been countless hours spent on the bus, numerous hotel rooms, abundant laughter and inside jokes, and an embarrassing amount of calorie consumption; when they call our names on graduation day and we walk across the stage to get our diplomas, we can be proud of the fact that we "left it out on the court".


Apr. 23, 2015

And last, but certainly not least, you should know about our freshmen – Kelly, Deanna and Kendall. We are so happy that these girls have been on the team this year and it has been so great to get to know each of them.

Kelly didn’t know what to expect coming to Cedarville. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too much of a change of scenery coming from upstate New York to Ohio. Since she came into Cedarville undecided on her major, she ended up choosing social work to her surprise. Along with social work, Kelly loves Spanish. Combined with her love for travel, Kelly hopes to travel to Spain to put her Spanish minor to use!

College tennis always has its differences from anyone’s high school tennis experience. For Kelly, she loves how we cheer for each other out on the courts, even during our matches. It definitely brings more of a team atmosphere to tennis even though it is such an individual sport. Kelly’s favorite moment from this year was playing water polo with our team and the men’s team in Florida. Apparently Lily, being an upperclassman, put Kelly in her place as a freshman and almost drowned her a few times. Lily always gets a little competitive when we play games and this situation was no different. Don’t worry, both girls came away friends and unharmed.

Deanna lives in Oxford, Ohio right near Miami University. Although going to Miami U. would have been a lot more convenient, we are happy she chose to come to Cedarville. Deanna has a huge passion for tennis and you can tell when she’s out on the court. She loves being with all the girls on the team. She especially loves all the great food we get to eat together, like coach’s Oreos on our road trips. She is studying nursing here and that pretty much occupies most of her time outside of tennis.

Last but not least, Kendall – or Ken, Benji, Benny – has brought a whole lot of spunk to our team and it’s great. She transferred to Cedarville this semester and we are so glad! I’m sure you have noticed, she joins her sisters Courtney and Kristen on the team. Benji has the best attitude out on the court. Instead of getting mad, she just laughs it off and moves on to the next point. Although she’s struggled with injury this season, we’re excited to have her playing in the fall. One thing about Benji you should know is that she can’t go without music. Most people say that a lot, but for her, it’s very true. She literally cannot live without her music. Her favorite moment this year was going on spring break with the team, getting to know all the girls, and enjoying the great weather.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about our fun freshmen! This weekend we are hosting the G-MAC Championship! I can’t believe how fast the spring season has flown by. There’s a lot of great tennis happening, so come support your Lady Jackets! (We don’t even mind if you cheer loud!) It’s starting to get emotional for us seniors, but we will wait for that until next week!


Apr. 15, 2015

Elise Perry is another teammate who traveled far to come to Cedarville. Elise is from the Sunshine State. How she deals with the drastic difference living in Ohio is beyond me! She went from playing tennis outside to now having to play indoors up here due to snow! Not to mention having to deal with the extreme wind factor out on the courts.

It hasn’t been completely bad for Elise. In fact, she actually loves the snow! Since she loves nature walks and being outside, the weather never really bothers her that much. Cedarville offered everything she was looking for in a college. She wanted a quality chemistry program at a smaller Christian college. Since she loves the cold, going to school in the Midwest was not a problem.

Elise has been able to learn more about herself and life in general. She loves that she has been able to do so in an environment like Cedarville. She enjoys being independent and hanging out with her friends whenever.

Now about that chemistry major…yes Elise loves chemistry, probably more than anyone I know. She loves how chemistry can show how the simple things can be incredibly complex. It has been really great to see her passion drive her through her studies! After college, Elise hopes to get her PhD to be a professor and research biochemistry.

In our team news…your Lady Jackets are still undefeated in the Great Midwest Athletic Confererence! We have a match at Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday and a home match Saturday against Asbury. We’re hoping to keep our streak going and make it to the G-MAC tournament with our #1 ranking!

Until next time…


Apr. 8, 2015

Well it’s been such a crazy time with our matches, the busyness of school, and Easter break! So you will have to wait to hear from our next guest of honor!

It seems appropriate to take a break anyway because we are killing it on the courts! I need to take a moment and brag about my girls.

First of all, congrats to Kristen (Dee) who is the G-MAC women’s tennis Athlete of the Week! She’s been killing it in her matches at #4 singles and at #2 doubles. Dee is undefeated in our G-MAC match-ups so far this season!

Everyone on our team is really playing top notch these days. I am pretty sure it’s because the sun is finally out! We won our last six matches in a row, four of those wins came from our G-MAC matches which is awesome. Our team finally got a much-needed victory against Davis & Elkins! All this to say, we are #1 in the conference right now and it feels so good! The girls have been working so hard to earn this. All the glory really goes to God though, because none of this would be possible without Him, especially after facing a lot of injuries this season!

I can’t forget to mention one of our favorite traditions of Easter every year: Coach’s Easter baskets! They are filled with all the Easter candy you can think of and it is so fun to get them while being at school, especially because a lot of us don’t go home with our matches being all of Easter weekend.

It’s crazy to think we only have four more matches until the G-MAC Tournament! We won against Wittenburg on Monday and we have some time to rest until our match at Ursuline on Saturday! If you could, keep Coach Morris in your prayers. She has been battling a sickness and really wants to be well for our matches. Thanks for all your support!


Mar. 31, 2015

Well, Courtney Heydt may be the last senior I am telling you all about, but she is certainly not the least. I am so thankful she transferred to Cedarville her sophomore year! I don’t know what I would do without this funny girl.

For those of you who don’t know, Court is an education major because she gets to love on kids who may not get love at home. Growing up playing school and watching her mom being a teacher, she always knew that’s what she wanted to be. Court wants to show her students Jesus every day in the classroom whether through teaching or interacting.

If you didn’t already pick up on this, Court goes to school with both of her sisters! It has been so fun to have the whole Heydt clan on the team. It has been particularly special for Court to spend this last semester with her sisters because she is getting married this summer. The most eligible bachelor? Jordan Ammon, who just happens to be a fellow Yellow Jacket athlete and a pitcher on the baseball team. Yes, these two cuties will be getting married this summer and we are all so excited about it!

One of my favorite things about Court is that she breaks out dancing when "Yeah" by Usher comes on every single time. Anytime, anywhere - she can’t help herself and it’s hilarious. She always says it’s the greatest song in the world because nothing compares to it. She’s pretty much convinced us that’s true.

Court also loves her ketchup. When I say love, I mean. It’s definitely a "have some fries with your ketchup" situation!

By the way, in case you wondered how we’re doing on the court…we are killin’ it! We won both our matches this past weekend and we looked really strong throughout our entire line up despite our injuries! I am super excited to see how the rest of this season goes.

We have plenty of matches coming up this week so if you could, pray for good rest and solid energy when we’re out on the courts because school is also starting to pick up for us!


Mar. 25, 2015

Greetings tennis fans!

Lauren Jackson is our #1 singles player and just happens to be one of the toughest girls I know.

This past fall, she took some time off due to some shoulder pain. Having had shoulder problems in the past, it didn’t seem like too big of a deal. After returning to hitting at Thanksgiving and trying to make up for lost time, Lauren’s entire arm went numb and tingly anytime she made contact with a ball.

After going back and forth with doctors to figure out the problem, Lauren found out she had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS). It seemed like physical therapy was the best route in order to avoid surgery. The doctor at OSU said Lauren would most likely need surgery, but had her go to six weeks of therapy. Obviously, surgery was the last thing Lauren wanted with the spring season approaching. She rose to her doctor’s challenge and worked as hard as she could at PT.

Well, three days of a numb arm, three sets of blood work, two X-rays, two dose packs, and over five doctor appointments later, the OSU doctor told Lauren she was going to have surgery after all and get one of her ribs taken out (not what you would expect for a shoulder problem).

When the doctors go in to remove part of Lauren’s first rib, it will free up the brachial plexus so that her nerve, artery and vein leading up to her arm and shoulder will no longer be "squashed." Hallelujah!

The recovery time for this surgery is about four to six months. Lauren is determined to beat that time after hearing of a baseball player who recovered in two2 months.

As devastating as it is to have surgery in the middle of our spring season, she has found other ways to be involved in the team and not get discouraged. She helps Coach Morris as a student assistant, like working on the footwork and conditioning drills. It has been great to have Lauren help encourage the team even though she can’t participate.

However, sitting on the sidelines can be one of the toughest experiences as an athlete. Lauren does a great job keeping her head up. She has been receiving encouragement from just about everyone through this time from professors, teammates, family, and friends. Not to mention the Athletic Training staff. They have helped Lauren with just about anything she needs regarding her condition - from questions to extra research.

This coming Monday Lauren goes in for this surgery and begins her recovery process to get back out on the courts. If you think about it, keep her in your prayers! Especially pray that everything will go smoothly and the recovery process can be as quick as possible! We love you Laur!


Mar. 18, 2015

This week Lily Schuler is my guest of honor. Much to her dismay, she has been living with me for the past two years. I can truly say it’s the best of times and the worst of times. Don’t worry, it has mostly been the best of times, of course. Lily and I have so many great memories from being roommates. So, as our time together is coming to an end, we came up with a list of the things we realized we would have never learned or experienced without each other.

First off, I wouldn’t even be here writing this blog to you write now if it wasn’t for Lily. We had way too much fun together our first semester freshman year in Dr. Firmin’s Psych class and Mr. Reep’s PACL class. Lil and I always seemed to find something entertaining and hilarious in each course, even when our classmates couldn’t. Before we knew it, we were hitting buddies dominating the court together – rain or shine. One thing led to another and I joined the team shortly after.

One of the best parts of college is that I never had a reason to go to the chiropractor because I live with one! Lil gives the best back cracks and massages out of anyone. So much so that there was always a line out our door.

Lil and I had the same schedule every day for two years. Then, in Lily’s words, "One day, Emily woke up and realized she wasn’t living life to the fullest and it was time to move on from nursing. Lily felt abandoned, alone, and betrayed." Now if that’s not dramatic, I don’t know what is. While I did switch majors, our friendship still flourished. Now, my life consists of living in the j-lab while Lily’s life consists of living in the sims-lab.

Thank goodness I found Lil as a roommate. She helped me broaden my horizons and my world is no longer boring and dreary. Lily mixes just about any food together to create her "delectable entrées" for her meals. When I eat, I prefer my food to be completely separate. Lil has helped me move past this fear and now we make absurd concoctions together. One of our all-time favorites is a peanut butter, jelly, and mini marshmallow Panini.

Most of you may know that Lily is from California. Having not grown up in much snow at all, she never had the chance to experience one of my favorite delicacies in my childhood: snow cream. It is essentially just ice cream made with snow, but so much better. Now, she loves it too. I also was able to help Lil learn how to drive in the snow, which has been a huge blessing for driving to clinicals in the winter.

Together, we learned to make the most of every situation. When the power in our dorm went out for the night, Lil and I decided to go camping with our hammocks. Our thought process was if we were going to be without power, we might as well be in nature. To this day, we have never stopped making the most out of every situation and we have had a lot more fun because of it.

While this is only a slight glimpse into the life of Lily and Emily, it’s safe to say we have made the most of being roommates the past two years (and being friends for four years). I will definitely miss distressing with yoga, pigging out on cookie dough together, and mastering singing "Titanium" in the stairwells. Will we survive? Only time will tell.


Mar. 12, 2015

Well, apparently it is possible to bring some Florida weather back with us from spring break! It’s not exactly 80 degrees, but the snow is melting, so I’ll take it!

We are anxiously awaiting the start of our spring season these next couple weeks. Along with keeping you up-to-date on everything tennis, I will be telling you about my teammates so that you can learn a little more about their stories besides what you see on the court. And yes, believe it or not, we do have lives beyond tennis!

Before I start, I want to give a quick shout-out to Courtney for being G-MAC Athlete of the Week! You’re the best!

Most of you know Maryssa Herbert on our team as our #3 singles player and #2 doubles player. If you come to our matches, you may even learn her middle name! Maryssa clearly has a passion for tennis, but she has an even bigger heart for missions.

Maryssa lived among Haitian people this past summer and became close with the Haitian ladies who served in the kitchen. While they didn’t speak English, and Maryssa didn’t speak Creole, she learned to communicate with them through singing and dance parties, believe it or not. These “Haitian moms” became very close with Maryssa and the rest of her team. On the team’s last day, the Haitian ladies made them a cake with icing and elicited help from others to write in English on the cake: “Good bye we will miss you all we will never forget you Mary. Andy Boy. Sara. Andy Girl. Big Baby. Ti Zonzon. Moressa. Sera. Tacco. We love you.”

After experiencing three trips to Haiti, Maryssa knew she wanted to pursue missions full-time, especially after living there last summer.

“It was an overwhelming feeling to feel such a huge call on my life but it was also so exciting because God is moving and working in ways that I may never understand,” she said.

Coming back and adjusting to life back in America was difficult after each of Maryssa’s trips to Haiti. The hardest part was adjusting to being in a self-centered culture after spending most of her time sharing the Gospel with Haitians. Even though a lot of tears were shed, Maryssa said that she recommends everyone go on a mission trip whether it is a short-term or long-term trip.

“Learn a culture and language in depth and be immersed. There is nothing like it. It is humbling, inspiring, challenging, but amazing at the same time,” she said.

As for the future, Maryssa is considering teaching oversees in the Middle East.

“There is a large possibility that I will end up in a country over there teaching kindergarten for two years and loving a people group that are living much like I did, with money and abundant resources, but extremely far away from the Lord,” She said.

 Wherever God leads, I know you’re going to do great things Rys! 


Mar. 4, 2015

This break has already been great with some much-needed time in the sun, relaxation, and tennis, of course.

We kicked off our trip with a two-day trek to Florida. We had our essential snacks for every spring break - Oreo balls, peanut butter bars, and kettle corn, a new favorite from Mr. Heydt. If you haven't made any of those before, I highly recommend it. Kathy brought us Brave and Ratatouille to watch as a team on the TV. They were great!

Tennis has been going well for us. Beyond that, it has been great to have time together as a team. Each night we get together to enjoy Becky's delicious dinners and take turns sharing testimonies.
A special birthday shoutout to Lauren! Woo! Together, with the men’s team, we celebrated with cupcakes and Coldstone. It has been great to be able to cheer on the men’s team during their matches, too.

We have been able to relax by the pool between matches and practices. Yesterday, we went to the beach after our match for the first time ever on spring break! We understood why we never did before, because the water was so cold. Only some were able to brave the ocean, but just being at the beach was great for everyone.

It's crazy we are already halfway through our trip! We have played three matches and have one more to go. We're soaking up the sun as much as we can before we get back to chilly Ohio.


Feb. 25, 2015

It’s funny how God weaves Scripture into our lives at just the right time.

Psalm 40:5 says, "Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare."

The senior captains (Courtney, Maryssa, Lily, and myself) picked this as our team verse this season because we felt like this was something we were trying to focus on as we moved into our senior year whether it be in tennis or in other ways. However, throughout the course of the year, this verse has helped our team be thankful that God has his hand on our lives, even when we can’t see it.

This spring season will be a little different than past, given the fact that we are down to seven eligible players out of our 11-person team who are eligible to play. For tennis, that’s about as close as we can get before we have to forfeit matches. Lauren and I are out with injuries. Lark and Kolleen cannot play for personal reasons.

It’s going to be a tough season, but I think we have had to take a step back and realize God has a plan. We face a lot of unknown in the outcome of our matches even more than before and then, there’s not much room for error.

Our goal is to be focused on glorifying God on and off the court, no matter what the outcome. I think that our response to this will only speak to our character and hopefully, it points our opponents to Christ.

All this to say, we have been practicing a lot this past winter and working on our conditioning, knowing that we will need to be in great shape for what is to come this spring.

As we head into Spring Break I am eager to see how our team rises to the challenge and pulls together during our week of matches. It going to be a great week of tennis, fun with teammates, and our favorite past time…eating. I am so excited that we will get to escape these frigid temperatures!

Next time I’ll be on here, we will be in Florida!


Oct. 10, 2014

There are many things about the start of fall that make me excited - Apple picking, corn mazes, cozy flannels, hockey season starting, and especially the crisp crunching of the leaves with the cool air. Unfortunately, Ohio doesn’t believe in a crisp and cool fall. Which leads me to why I’m sad for fall - not only does that mean our season is done, but the rainy weather cut our season short. (Our match against Miami-Middletown on Monday was canceled.)

And so…I’m ending our fall season with a few great memories.

Our annual trip to Young’s. Who can turn down those cheese curds and ice cream?!

When Lily nailed, I mean nailed, Courtney in the back during a practice doubles match. Poor Court lost her breath!

Rocking Kelly’s world by introducing her to Chick-fil-A and Olive Garden!

Kathy leading us through Counterattack by Jay Carty for Bible study. I think each of us have enjoyed and been challenged by different parts of this study but it has been so good! I highly recommend it!

Hosting a doubleheader with the men’s team against Findlay! It’s always great when we are able to cheer each other on during matches.

Getting to spend time with Norris, the best bus driver ever because we had five away matches this fall! That’s right…five! We spent at least 20 hours on the bus!

When Maryssa’s parents brought us fresh apples, apple cider, and apple donuts from Maryssa’s favorite cider mill in Michigan!

My personal favorite…running concessions for all the home soccer games. It is truly service with a smile :)

Becky’s amazing Bible study treats like her apple cobbler, queso dip, and chocolate cupcakes!

Staying up late in the hotels having "homework parties" and sharing countless laughs.


Since we don’t have matches, we are now able to get involved in the community a little more. This Saturday, some of our team will be participating in the Safe Harbor Prayer Walk! If you think about it, pray that the walk goes well and that Safe Harbor is able to raise awareness for trafficking! We are planning on going to spend some time at Safe Harbor and help them in any way they need in a few weeks. We will also be helping out with the Veteran’s Day Banquet at the Xenia Senior Center.

In just about a week or so our very own Maryssa and Courtney will start their student teaching! They grow up so fast! But really, we are all so excited for them! They will both make great teachers!

All of us will be very busy with the rest of our activities. Thankfully, we still meet for Bible study after our fall season. We would miss each other too much if we didn’t!

Until next Spring!


Oct. 2, 2014

We had some great weather for tennis this past weekend! Unfortunately, that did not help us get some W’s.

The girls played great tennis Friday during our very close match against Otterbein. Courtney, Deanna and Lily all played great matches for their wins. #3 doubles won an exciting match, 9-7. We ultimately lost 5-4. This match was a hard loss, but knowing we left it all out on the court helped ease the disappointment.

Saturday, we drove out to Marion, Indiana to play Indiana Wesleyan. They are always one of our toughest opponents during the season and they proved it again this time. We still hung tough. Lauren split sets with her opponent. Lily also had a great marathon match. Although we couldn’t get a win, we did go to Ivanhoe’s after! Ivanhoe’s is like our version of Young’s for IWU and Taylor students. They serve giant sundaes and milkshakes! Although, if you ask me, I’m still partial to Young’s.

Kathy has been leading us through a great Bible study about sin. We have been talking about how we can stop giving the devil a foothold and how we can be offensive against sin. It has definitely been challenging, but very worth it!

We only have one more match for the fall season! Next Monday we play Miami-Middletown!

Also in tennis news, this week is Kristen’s (D’s) birthday! So if you see her around, give her a huge happy birthday wish! We love you D!


Sept. 25, 2014

It has been a long and tough week of tennis for our team. Each team we played continued to push us to play our best tennis, just like last week.

We hosted our first home match of the season on Tuesday against Findlay. They were a very tough team, but we put up a good fight despite losing. Lauren and I had a battle at #2 doubles and Maryssa split sets in her match.

We were on the road again for both of our matches in Kentucky Friday and Saturday! Some of the girls’ parents and friends came all the way out to our matches for the weekend. We were happy to have some fans! Maryssa’s parents even brought us some fresh apples, cider, and donuts from a cider mill in Michigan. It was all so good! We had endless snacks for the entire weekend!

Asbury was a challenging team, but we were able to come out with the win. All of the girls really stepped it up for singles. As a result, we went big for dinner at Smashburger. We all had a very healthy serving of burgers, fries, and shakes. We all had the freedom to create our burgers with whatever toppings we wanted from avocados to jalapenos!

Georgetown was tough competition as well, but unfortunately, our scores did not reflect how we played in our matches. A few of us are fighting through injuries, so thankfully we have this week to rest up and prepare for another tennis-packed weekend. We host Otterbein on Friday and then we are on the road at Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday.


Sept. 16, 2014

Well, the fall weather kicked in this weekend while we were on the road. Summer is definitely gone! Along with getting used to the crisp air, it was nice to get in the swing of playing matches.

On Friday we played Brescia. Their team challenged our mental toughness and forced us to use some strategy during each match. We were able to snag a win, 6-3.

We picked our favorite place to eat after a long day of matches: Olive Garden. Nothing tasted so good after our first match of the season.

Next, we traveled a little bit further to play Southern Indiana. This team is always a tough one for us and Saturday was no exception. We lost 6-3 overall. Everyone played with great endurance. On a positive note, we have never won three matches against USI! We’re hoping we can give them even more of a challenge next year.

It has been fun to break in the new players to all of our team traditions and crazy road trips. We have had a lot of fun getting to know them and sharing lots of laughs. The highlight of this weekend was introducing Kelly to Olive Garden and Chick-fil-A! She had never been to either of these amazing places to eat! She loved both of her meals and we were happy to inform her that she will be eating a lot more of them throughout the rest of year with us!

Coach Morris challenged each of us to memorize our team verse for this year because we want to be prepared when people ask us what the verse on our sleeve is. Not only is that important, but I have been reminded this week as I look down at my sleeve who we are playing for. We want to win more than anything, but further than that, we want to honor Christ with our conduct on and off the court, win or lose.

We have been working as a team the first few weeks to get it down and we are pretty close! It has been awesome to see how this verse has brought us together as a team and also impacted each of our individual lives outside of tennis.

I am so thankful for this team and so excited to see how the rest of our season goes! Next week will be a busy one! Since Kentucky treated us so well this past weekend, we will be back again this coming weekend for two more matches against Asbury and Georgetown. But first, we have our first home match of the fall on Tuesday! Come support the Lady Jackets!
 

Sept. 9, 2014

I can’t believe it’s that time of year again! Summer is almost gone and our tennis season is just about in full swing. We have been enjoying the first few weeks back at school practicing and getting ahead on our work before our crazy match schedule starts! We have six away matches this fall, so we will be on the road a lot which means lots of team bonding on long bus rides with our favorite bus driver, Norris!

As always, I want everyone to get to know our new players this year! Kelly, Lark, and Deanna have already been a great addition to our team. I asked each of them to share a little bit about themselves.

Kelly is a freshman from New York. She switched from soccer to tennis in 8th grade and she never looked back. She played all of high school where she developed her vicious backhand slice. Kelly looks up to Victoria Duval. Duval beat out the 11th seed in the US Open at just 17 years old. Kelly is looking forward to improving her game this season and getting to know everyone on the team. If you don’t find her on the tennis court, you can most likely find her wherever there is food! I think she will fit in perfectly :)

Lark is a sophomore from Michigan. She first picked up a racket at the age of 6 after her grandma gathered all the cousins who lived in town to play tennis once a week. Soon, Lark picked up on her grandma’s love for tennis and began to play regularly when she was 12. Lark is looking forward to being on our team because this will be the first time she will compete in tennis with a team! Her favorite player is Rafael Nadal because of his unique style of play on the court. She must learn something from watching Nadal because Lark’s favorite shot is an on-the-run, cross court forehand. If you can’t find her on the courts, Lark is probably at a horse barn. She grew up working around horses and it is one of her favorite things to do!

Deanna is a freshman from Ohio. She also started playing tennis in the 8th grade. Deanna might be our new comeback queen this year because she is determined to win, even when it means coming from behind. She looks up to Maria Sharapova because of her focus and composure. Under all that determination Deanna has some pre-match routines that help keep her calm! She always wears the same necklace and she might run sprints before her matches to keep her focus. She is looking forward to playing at a higher level and more competition this year. If you can’t find Deanna on the courts, she is most likely exploring campus taking pictures!

We are all so excited to welcome these girls into our tennis family! We will make our way to Kentucky for our first match on Friday against Brescia!


Emily Paul is a senior at Cedarville University from Cooksville, Md. and a Dean's List student majoring in journalism.