For senior Kourtney Stark, it all comes down to hard work and sticking together in order for the UT Tennis team to improve their current losing record.
The Spartans (2-4, 0-3 SSC) find themselves in a tough conference but have found a great competitor in Stark who, before their first win last week against No. 28 Saint Leo, was the only player on the team to win a set this season.
Stark, a communications major, has been playing tennis since she was a young girl.
“I’ve been playing Tennis for 12 years now,” Stark said. “I went to tennis academy in school for five years. [I attended] Saddlebrook Prep, which is not really far away, and it is pretty big time tennis there.”
Stark said she fell in love with UT and its atmosphere, making the decision to come here much easier.
“I played tennis and then I played golf for two years and I kind of wasn’t sure what I wanted to play in college,” Stark said. “I fell in love with UT and now I love the school, the coach, the communications program I am in, I love it all.”
Stark has had a successful career at UT.
As a sophomore, she won five consecutive matches, which was just a taste of what was to come.
As a junior, Stark prevailed in 10 single matches and in another nine doubles matches.
And while things are not going so well this year, Stark believes that hard work is the key to the Spartans reversing this year’s losing season.
“Honestly, we are in a very tough conference,” Stark said. “I think that as long as we all stick together and train hard [we’ll be fine].”
Recently the team won its first match of the season against No. 28 Saint Leo after coming back from a 1-2 deficit.
Stark played an important role in this game, bouncing back from a 6-3 first set loss, and taking the following two sets 6-1 and 7-6 (7-2), leading the Spartans to victory.
“I am a fighter,” Stark said. “If you look at my record, I’m known to go three sets quite often. I fight for every point and if I’m going to lose she will beat me; I am not going to give up or beat myself by any means.”
Stark said that she will try to continue winning, for herself and the team, the rest of the season.
Stark said that this season is her last, and she wants it to represent a big step for her towards the future.
“I graduate in May so I’m definitely thinking about future plans,” Stark said. “I think I’m gonna try to do some grad school, which is the next step for me and perhaps down the line after I further enhance my education I could be an assistant coach, we’ll see.”
Arturo can be reached at juzcategui.gomez@ut.edu.