Senior Carm Ventura has dedicated years of her time to the tennis court, and now as an upperclassman and Varsity Captain she is leading her team through a season of enjoying everything that happens on and off the court, and enjoying it together.
What was it like joining varsity tennis, and how did you handle competing with older players?
“Well, I think it was definitely intimidating when I first started, and I just kind of had to put myself out there with older players. When I was competing with them, I had to make sure I kept a positive mindset. It was my first season going into it, and I just had to make sure I wasn’t down on myself when I ended up losing.”
How do you think your game and leadership have grown over the past years on the team?
“I think that my game has definitely improved a lot coming into this year because my first year I was unsure if I was going to be playing singles or doubles, and I ended up not playing a whole ton because there was a lot of people that were way better than me, but just practicing with those girls who ended up playing college tennis, improved my technique and skill. Hitting ground strokes, volleys, etc. And my leadership over the past years definitely has grown too, because this year I’m a captain on the team. I’ve been able to help the younger girls who are new and facilitate practices. Weekend events and cheering at quads.”
What has been your favorite memory from your time on varsity tennis, either on or off the court?
”My favorite memory was a movie night that we did my freshman year on the tennis courts. We set up a projector, and watched a movie together. Definitely a good team bonding experience. We’re bringing it back this year, so I’m really excited for that.”
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced during your tennis career in high school, and how did you overcome it?
“The biggest challenge I faced was learning how to communicate with my doubles partner. Now that I’ve overcome it, I see how when you’re playing doubles, there’s a lot riding on how you play. There’s a lot of pressure you put on yourself to do good, because your partner wants to win too, and if you’re down and you’re not playing well that can cause your partner to start falling down too. And so overcoming this has definitely been a learning experience, and has shown me that we’re in it together. We just have to push through and keep communicating, while also hyping each other up.”
Who has influenced your tennis journey the most—whether a coach, teammate, or someone outside of school—and in what way?
“My mom for sure. She played tennis in high school, won multiple state championships, and played club tennis in college as well. She put me in tennis when I was five years old, and I’ve been playing ever since. She comes to all my matches, and always has good advice.”
How do you balance the demands of being a student-athlete, especially during tennis season?
“It definitely takes a lot of work. I’m going straight from school to practice, have practice until six, then come home to eat dinner and do all of my homework. My most important thing is my planner. I write down all of my assignments so that I can cross them off at the end of the night. I also make sure that I’m communicating with my coach. If I’m ever super stressed out or anything like that.”
What does being part of the tennis team mean to you personally beyond just playing the sport?
”It’s a community that we can go to with anything that we need. We spend a lot of time together… quads all day on Saturday, and we normally are doing something together on Sundays. So during tennis season, we get super close. And everyone has different lifestyles, so you get to learn a lot about each other and it’s really fun.”
What advice would you give to incoming freshmen who want to succeed on varsity tennis?
“I would say to put yourself out there and try to dive into the season. Don’t hold yourself back because you’re afraid of failure.”
As you prepare to graduate, how do you hope your teammates will remember you and your leadership?
“I hope that my teammates remember me as not only a leader who wants to do well in tennis, but also as a team. I want everyone to be able to do well personally as well as together. Obviously tennis is important and winning is important, but it’s not everything. Have fun during the season, but I think it’s more important to prioritize how you’re doing outside of it as well and find a balance.”
