Sydney Sawyer '17 Recruiting Profile

I've been playing tennis since I was 4.  At first I tried tennis because I just loved all sports in general including softball, basketball, dirt biking, soccer. But for some reason I just keep coming back to tennis as being my favorite and I got better at it. 

Throughout the years I've continued to grow by playing USTA tournaments competitive Junior Team Tennis with various clubs and also high school for both Tuscarora and Riverside High School.  In 2016 I was awarded Loudoun County Tennis Player of the Year. 

Tennis has allowed me to mature in a couple ways. It taught me how to be a leader and how to dig deep. I will start with the latter. Unlike others sports where your coach can call a time out and help you strategize. I can't do that at USTA tournaments, so I have to learn to self-motivate to remember to stay calm. to fight even when I am down 0-3, in other words to dig deep to win. And then when I lose I have to learn to recover. Not only for myself, when I play singles but also when I play high school tennis and as the team captain, I have to recover for my teammates so as not discourage them.  But I've also learned that once I get my disappointment out in a corner by myself I have regroup and be a cheerleader and motivator for the rest of the team. My teammates have shared that they really love that about me. This sport has not only helped me grow as an individual but also as an athlete. I may not have had the good fortune to attend an elite academy, but with help my coach we have developed our own brand of tennis excellence, and i think it has made me faster, smarter and more effective on court.