Roster:
Kristin Hedtke – Junior
Tayler Hedtke – Freshman
Alexander Huffman – Senior
Jonathan Phillips – Senior
Austin Walker – Freshman
Elena Miller – Sophomore
Teams defeated this season: Baylor University, UT Arlington, Southern Methodist University, Sam Houston State University, UT Dallas and others.
Q: How did you first hear about the Tennis on Campus program? What made you decide to actively take part and also become a leader on your campus? How do you feel about TOC and being a captain?
I first heard about Tennis on Campus when I was in high school. I had a coach who talked about TOC as an option for continuing tennis beyond high school, and I also had a former teammate who played in the TOC program and brought it to my attention. After high school, I wanted to keep playing tennis in a team environment so I sought out the club at UH and joined my first year.
I took leadership positions the next two years in order to fill the need for leadership and to become more involved with the club. TOC has been an amazing experience for me. It gives me the opportunity to be a part of a team, play tennis competitively, and travel for tournaments. Being a captain has also been very rewarding and I am so proud of my team and what we have accomplished.
Q: Does your team actively use social media to stay connected? If so, what social media platforms are your favorites? Does your team use social media in any special way that you feel sets you apart from other teams?
Facebook is our main base for team communications. We coordinate practices, share photos and create events for tournaments.
Q: How did your team feel once you knew you qualified for Nationals?
We were leading going into our last set at the section championships, so the win was expected. The other team double faulted on the last point to give us the win, which definitely dampened our immediate celebrations but we were all pretty excited. This has been a goal of the UH Tennis Club for a long time, so to finally reach nationals is a dream.
Q: If a local newspaper was to write a story about your team what is the one thing you’d want to make sure they included?
The hard work we have put in and the camaraderie of the team.
Q: How does your team fundraise? Did you know you could teach tennis programs or work with local community tennis groups to help serve your local community in a meaningful way?
We host a fundraiser tournament on campus for other UH students or community members to participate in. Yes, our team has participated in local USTA and Houston Tennis Association events to help serve the community.
Q: What are some fun things that you and your teammates like to do as a group?
It’s team tradition to go out for dinner together after tournaments.
Q: Do you have many seniors on your team? Do you think they know about opportunities after graduation like “Sets in the City” or young adult social leagues? Do you think anyone on your team would be interested in starting one?
We have two graduating seniors on our team. I think they know about further tennis opportunities but perhaps not those specific examples. They might be interested in joining existing leagues/events.
If you were to list three specific things that need to happen in order to win a National Championship, they would be:
We have a great group of players this year, but to win Nationals everyone would need to be playing their A-game, we’d need a bit of good luck, and we’d have to avoid problems associated with past/recurring injuries.
Share with us a funny story about your team or team member(s).
We carpool to tournaments and it’s always pretty entertaining when we get some good sing-alongs going to Taylor Swift or Disney songs.
Share with us an uplifting story about your team or team member(s).
We used to half-jokingly call ourselves “Team Shirtless” because we kept placing third in our tournament draws. The first tournament we won and got t-shirts at this year was really exciting and gave us even more motivation to keep playing hard.
