- Hometown: Radnor, Pennsylvania
- Sports: Tennis
- Major: Art History
- Profession: Teacher/long-time Volunteer
- Favorite memory at Wes: Freshman Year in Nicholson 5 and Junior Year Abroad in Paris and playing Della Street on WESU with Mike Arkin and others
The Wesleyan women’s tennis team in 1970-71 was nothing like what it is now. We were 100 women and I think there were only two tennis players among us from our class. I was thrilled when Barbara Bascom was hired to coach all of our women's sports. She worked so hard and she cared about us and fought for us to have locker room space! The following year, the incoming freshmen class had a few stronger players yet I don't think we ever won a team match. Junior year, I left for the Wesleyan Program in Paris …and, through tennis, I met my French husband. Voila!
When I read of the women’s tennis team accomplishments and see the photo of them in their red and black outfits, I envy this time in their lives. I hope they cherish these moments of camaraderie and mutual support among themselves.
Tennis has been a theme throughout my life. I was nowhere near being a strong tennis player such as Wesleyan has now. Nevertheless, I have always played tennis these past 50 years. In France, they had a wonderful system that allowed players of any level to compete in local tournaments, win a few matches and get a ranking. I also played on the Seniors' Team of my Paris club at age 35. (I hardly felt like a Senior at that age!)
When I returned to the US, 32 years later, not knowing anyone, I joined a tennis club, made friends and played on two women's teams. The Boston area has excellent clubs and team competitions at all levels. Darren Becker '03 has opened a Tennis Center in Lexington, MA.
Advice to current student-athletes: It's not really advice. One learns who you are from playing tennis competitively and what you have to do to win. Even at my level, I learned how much tennis is a mind game. Sometimes, you have to play as though you are another person. As an introvert, in order to play aggressively, I made up stories about my opponent to fire me up. I kept my own list of “10 Commandments of Tennis” which I reviewed when changing sides. These strategies often worked!
So my advice is: Keep playing tennis. You meet the nicest people. You make friends anywhere and you might meet a life-long partner, not just a tennis partner! It is a wonderful sport.
