Sophomore Kristen Bleakley is one of the many differing personalities that make up the women’s tennis team. Being one of the seven girls on the team, coach Hans Olsen has stressed that each person on the team plays a different role, all necessary in functioning as a team.
Bleakley’s role, he said, is unique.
“She is a team person; she loves her team,” Olsen said. “She is the glue to the team, that ‘X’ factor that holds it all together.”
Bleakley, raised in Prairie Village, Kansas, started playing tennis at age 4. Before ninth grade, she took three years off to play soccer and basketball, but got serious about tennis in high school and playing at the collegiate level, eventually for the Wolfpack.
“I really wanted to play any sport in college,” Bleakley said. “Tennis was the love I had.”
Bleakley’s love for tennis transcends into love for other aspects of her life. She said that she enjoys spending time with her family.
“I love going to the beach and hanging with my friends and family,” Bleakley said. “I love to see my family when I’m not playing tennis, and I just love having a good time.”
With six matches left before the ACC tournament, Bleakley is 6-3 in singles, and 7-5 in doubles with fellow sophomore Catherine Grotz. Her improvements from her freshman campaign have been noticed by Olsen.
“Kristen has really made a lot of progess in her biggest area needing improvement, which is mentally,” Olsen said. “I think in the last few weeks she has really honed in now on a couple of key things that has made a difference in her mental game. I’m very proud of her for making those steps … she has become a tougher mental player.”
According to Bleakley, her strengths include her forehand and serve, as well as her positive attitude.
“I’m good at keeping that even keel– not going too up or too down,” Bleakley said. “Also the motivation that I bring to each court is a strength of mine. We have good communication between all of us. It helps us get through the matches sometimes.”
As the season’s end is in sight, as well as the end of the school year, balancing tennis and academics has been difficult, Bleakley said.
“It’s been really tough, especially right now,” Bleakley said. “We missed lots of class because of traveling, and I know I have missed a ton of tests. We all just work on the road.”
The stress level and pressure of other aspects on life sometimes make focusing on tennis difficult, Bleakley said.
“During practice, coach told us we just have to shut it all out when we get on the court, focus on one thing and that’s tennis, so we try not to think about other stuff around the court,” she said.
As well as finishing out the academic year strong, Olsen has some other goals for Bleakley.
“I’m hoping she will be in some challenging situations, and things come about that are less than perfect and she sees it as an opportunity to become a better player,” Olsen said. “I think that is where she will need to grow. I think she has the potential to be a leader on this team; yet she will need to step out of her comfort zone a little bit to get there.”
