In the midst of flying green tennis balls and the sound of feet sprinting across the court, one player’s confidence is as steady as the swing of her racket.
As the only returning player for the women’s tennis team for two seasons, Eunice Na, 19, finds her love of tennis pushing her forward.
“I started taking lessons when I was five because my mom wanted me to,” Na said. “I stopped playing for a while, then started again when I was in eighth grade.”
Na quickly accelerated as a top player at West High School, winning the Coach’s Award throughout her years playing at the high school level.
Tennis though was not always easy for her.
“I didn’t make the lineup for the junior varsity team my sophomore year,” Na said. “I was later the No. 1 player for singles on the varsity team.”
At the college level, Na said she believed that her experience at West High school and at EC have been similar.
Na added that only her performance has improved from her previous season at EC.
“It was the same experience playing for EC that it was at West,” Na said. “I took lessons over the summer and got a lot better and had a better experience this season. I wish I didn’t play last year because I was so bad.”
One thing was different than playing in high school Na said, and for her that was the competition.
“It’s a lot different. Many of the girls are more experienced in college and the competition level was higher,” Na said.
With more experienced opponents and a higher level of competition this season, Na said she has worked hard to close the gap of playing experience that the team had and to work together to defeat their opponents.
“We call her the ‘Mom’ of the team,” Carolina Mendoza, 20, said. “She’s always telling us how the other team plays and is always very supportive.”
As the returning player from last season’s team, Na was given the leadership role on the team and encouraged the other members to excellence.
“Eunice had the experience in what to expect and guided the players and was a real encouragement,” Steve Van Kenegan, women’s tennis coach, said.
“She was always the first person at practice and was the last to leave and she showed great leadership early on in the season,” Van Kenegan said.
As the No. 1 player, Na always found time to support her teammates and to also be a good example as a role model.
“She brings us all together and we all look up to her,” Mendoza said.
Although Na will be transferring to the University of Santa Barbara in the fall as a communications major, she is not letting her love and passion for sports remain on just the tennis court.
“I have a tennis job this summer and I’m going to minor in sports management and play on the intramural tennis club connected with UCSB,” Na said.