As long as I can remember, sports have always been an important part of my life. I grew up in Florida, so tennis was something that I was almost required to play. I started at a young age, while I was also participating in gymnastics and soccer. I realized that tennis was the sport I wanted to play in college when I moved to Maine when I was 11. For me, there was just something about being on a tennis court that was so satisfying.
It was harder for me to go outside of high school and play national tournaments because I was a three-sport athlete. I always made time for tennis – playing at a local country club (year round) and trying to get in as many local and regional tournaments as possible. Although I did play three sports, there was never any doubt that tennis was the sport for me to play in college.
When I started looking at schools I knew that, although I was going to play tennis, I didn’t want it to be my entire college life. I immediately thought that this would eliminate all schools at the Division I level but I knew that there were some great Division II and III programs out there for me to choose from. I looked at schools mostly in New England and the Midwest, knowing that the competition in the South and on the West Coast would be too much for me.
I was in contact with several coaches but for some reason just couldn’t find one that I really clicked with. This made the process very stressful for me as I started to see my dreams of playing college tennis fade away. With this in mind, I started to research some colleges that I had been automatically matched with through a program I was working with at my high school. Even though I hadn’t heard of most of these schools, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to take a longer look at them. In my search, I came upon Sacred Heart University. It was a medium-sized Catholic school in Fairfield, Connecticut with a growing Division I tennis program in the small Northeast Conference.
When I first visited the school, I went on a tour of the campus and wasn’t completely blown away. Once again, I was completely torn. I thought I was going to fall in love at first sight and at the time, I was just so-so. I kind of put them on the back burner but sent my video to the coach anyway. When I got a call back from the coach, I thought I might as well meet him and go on the official visit.
As soon as I walked into Mike Guastelle’s office and started talking to him – I knew that Sacred Heart was the place for me. I went on my official visit that same weekend and really clicked with all the girls on the team as well. On the drive home with my mom after the visit, I told her I found my school and I wanted to apply early decision. I didn’t care if I was going to be offered a full scholarship or no scholarship, I just knew that I had to play tennis for that team. Once I started researching the school a little bit more, I realized that they offered the exact major that I was looking into.
Because of Sacred Heart’s athletic budget, I was not offered a scholarship until my senior year but I was still able to start on a Division I tennis team all four years of college. Having the opportunity to play tennis in college was such an amazing experience and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.