Brittany McBride '14 Recruiting Profile

My parents, my brother and I moved from Meadville, PA to Erie, PA (about 45 miles) so we could attend Mercyhurst Prep. Mercyhurst has been a girls' tennis powerhouse for years and I felt playing for them would be a wonderful experience. My brother and I also chose Mercyhurst because of its excellent academic reputation. Mercyhurst is the only school in our region to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and is the most academically challenging school in our area. I am very focused on my education.  I take only high level courses, maintain a high QPA, and am in National Honor Society.

I have played high school tennis for Mercyhurst Preparatory School in Erie, PA for the past four years. All four years I have played  singles for my team. In my freshman and sophomore years I made it to the finals of District 10 for singles only losing to my teammate that played one singles. She is currently playing Division I tennis for the Naval Academy. In my Freshman and Sophomore years I was the District 10 doubles champion with my teammate and best friend, Katie Elia.  While we lost in the PIAA tournament without a medal, we gained alot of experience.  In my Junior and Senior season I chose not to play in district singles to pursue a doubles title with the same partner.  Katie and I  won District Doubles in 2012 and went on to take a bronze medal in the PA PIAA AA state championships in Hershey, PA. In 2013 we won a tough match against teammates to win our 4th consecutive D10 Doubles title.  This year was our last chance at a doubles gold medal and we didn't let it go this time.  During four matches at the tournament in Hershey we dropped only nine games against quality teams to win the PIAA AA Doubles Gold Medal.  What a way to finish our senior year.  However, none of these accomplishments could compare to helping my team win the PA PIAA AA State Championship in 2012. Our quarterfinal match was against a team that was a slight favorite. My team has a great deal of depth and we were confident in victory for our doubles teams. Our #1 singles was playing the eventual state champion in singles and we didn't expect her to win. That left #2 or 3 singles that had to produce a victory for our team to advance. I won my first set 6-4. The singles matches were on either side of me. I knew #1 was losing and #3 was struggling. I struggled some also, falling to 0-3 in the second set. Somehow I found the ability to come back and win the 2nd set 7-5, which clinched the win for our team. Coaches, parents, and teammates shared many tears of joy and hugs that morning. We went on to win our next two team matches (I won both my matches) to win the first ever state championship for any tennis team ever in our region of Pennsylvania. I thought this would be the highlight of my high school career, but along came the 2013 season, my senior year.  This time around all the teams at states knew Mercyhurst and wanted to beat us.  After winning the round of 16 state match on our home courts we dominated against three quality teams in the quarters, semis, and final to take our 2nd state team title.  Our team is on a 38-0 two year winning streak.  Playing singles for the team, I finished the year at 20-0  and lost only 7 games in the four matches in the PIAA team tournament.  I am sharing this because I absolutely love being a part of a tennis team. Winning back to back team state championships with my teammates has been the highlight of my high school experience.

I play USTA as often as my schedule will allow and have worked my way up to 2 stars on the tennis recruiting site. There are not many USTA tournaments in my area so almost all USTA tournaments involve out of town travel two or more hours away. Year-round I take private lessons with a teaching professional, train in the highest level junior development program at an indoor tennis facility, play practice matches, participate in an advance women’s doubles group,  and work out to further develop my tennis skills.

College tennis is very important to me. I hope to find a college that I can succeed academically and be part of a team that can benefit from my tennis abilities and enthusiastic love of the game.