Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com
Women’s Tennis Uses Time for the Community
10/22/2020 1:11:00 PM | Women's Tennis
BOCA RATON, Fla. – There is a proverbial phase, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." The Florida Atlantic University women's tennis team has done just that.
The Owls were making a name for themselves through the first 11 matches of their 2020 season with an 8-3 record and several top individual performances (including Natalie Kallmunzerova's 10-0 mark), aiding in the team's efforts to ascend among the country's most elite. But then COVID closed the country, sending the team home, most of them to separate countries.
The players dispersed to their homelands and returned in August to a new normal – virtual classrooms, social distancing among teammates and most difficult of them all, no team functions. For many of the players, team and social/cultural experiences are the reason they chose college rather than devoting their full attention to professional play. College tennis is the first time that the players have been a part of a something bigger than themselves. It is the first time they are playing for the name on the front of their chest rather than themselves.
How do you make lemonade when the reason you play, the reason you devote hours of conditioning and skill work to your game, is suddenly taken away? FAU women's tennis has found a way by turning their attention to community service. Since returning to Boca Raton in late August, the Owls have more than 40 hours of community service and it has been accumulated by seven players, two of whom are doing so while out of the country.
Here is a USTA podcast detailing how FAU women's tennis is changing lives through adaptive tennis. They are using their remote study time to make "lemons to lemonade." Click HERE for details.
"I love community service," said senior Natalia Boltinskaya. "I love giving back to the community, especially with Lisa's program [Lisa Pugliese, founder of Love Serving Autism]. It was my first time doing tennis online. I felt like this is a great idea. No one in my country [Russia] did it during this crazy time going on right now … that I have a chance in participating and making those kids better gives me joy. We do it on Saturday, and on Saturday after that hour, I feel like I have gotten so much from it. I can help somebody with what I know is the greatest feeling."
The Owls were making a name for themselves through the first 11 matches of their 2020 season with an 8-3 record and several top individual performances (including Natalie Kallmunzerova's 10-0 mark), aiding in the team's efforts to ascend among the country's most elite. But then COVID closed the country, sending the team home, most of them to separate countries.
The players dispersed to their homelands and returned in August to a new normal – virtual classrooms, social distancing among teammates and most difficult of them all, no team functions. For many of the players, team and social/cultural experiences are the reason they chose college rather than devoting their full attention to professional play. College tennis is the first time that the players have been a part of a something bigger than themselves. It is the first time they are playing for the name on the front of their chest rather than themselves.
How do you make lemonade when the reason you play, the reason you devote hours of conditioning and skill work to your game, is suddenly taken away? FAU women's tennis has found a way by turning their attention to community service. Since returning to Boca Raton in late August, the Owls have more than 40 hours of community service and it has been accumulated by seven players, two of whom are doing so while out of the country.
Here is a USTA podcast detailing how FAU women's tennis is changing lives through adaptive tennis. They are using their remote study time to make "lemons to lemonade." Click HERE for details.
"I love community service," said senior Natalia Boltinskaya. "I love giving back to the community, especially with Lisa's program [Lisa Pugliese, founder of Love Serving Autism]. It was my first time doing tennis online. I felt like this is a great idea. No one in my country [Russia] did it during this crazy time going on right now … that I have a chance in participating and making those kids better gives me joy. We do it on Saturday, and on Saturday after that hour, I feel like I have gotten so much from it. I can help somebody with what I know is the greatest feeling."
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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