Alexandra Pastore '26 Recruiting Profile

Hello, my name is Alexandra Pastore, but I go by Lexi! I am from Oswego Illinois. I go to Oswego High School, and I am in the class of 2026. I have been playing sports for a long time, but tennis has always stuck with me. When I was in elementary school my love for tennis began. I took lessons during the summer and when I didn't have lessons I would ask my dad or sister to play tennis. It didn't matter where I was as long as I had a racket and ball I would ask to play. We would play in the street or if we had more time we would go to the tennis courts. I now play on my high school varsity girls tennis team. I played first doubles my sophomore year above my older teammates. I currently play first doubles. I am also a captain for varsity, which I take on the responsibility of conditioning, warm-ups and being a leader for the girls on my team both in school and on the court.

Tennis to me is one of the most complex sports because you have to train yourself both physically and mentally. You have to physically train your endurance, stamina, all the strokes, and techniques used to win matches. However, you also have to mentally train your brain to believe in yourself, give you the confidents to win. But you also have to train your brain for when you lose, train it to not say "I give up" but rather say, "what do I have to do different so I can win next time". As an athlete or even just a student, I believe advice is the best gift someone can give because it allows you to grow. I am considered to be a very coachable player as I have been told by my coaches in every sport I have played. This has allowed me to win matches.

As a student-athlete, I always put student before athlete. I have a 3.94 GPA unweighted and 4.34 weighted. I keep my grades at A's and high B's. I take mostly honor and AP courses because I like to challenge myself. I like to stay involved with my school, I am in National Honors History Society and National Honors Science Society and I plan on joining more this year. My sophomore year I managed the girls varsity and junior varsity basketball team. I also managed the boys tennis team both varsity and junior varsity. I am in our school Best Buddies club, B.I.O.N.I.C club, junior council and academic decathlon club. I am also an athletic trainer for my school, so I am around all different sports. I have learned how to thrive under pressure. Learned how to balance my education, being an athlete, my health and just being a teenager. My future career goal is to become a physical therapist because I want to help athletes get back to the sport they love and also help anybody get back to their everyday life.

I would like to continue to play tennis at the college level, to not just only continue my love for tennis, but to meet new people and to gain experiences of a lifetime!