2008 Woodie Awards
Senior leads inexperienced tennis team
Kavita Thakkar
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
|
Ballard has begun the 2007-08 season in a winning style, claiming singles title in Flight B-1, winning four matches at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Columbia, S.C.
She has had an accomplished tennis career at UTC so far and is now looking to step up to further her career in her last season.
However, being at the top is not an unfamiliar position for Ballard.
She played her freshman year at the top position and had a 9-13 record. She also had nine singles win as number two. She played in twenty doubles matches, which is a team-high.
"My best memory is finally beating Elon in the Conference tournament after losing to them three times my freshman and sophomore years," Ballard said.
Last year she reached an 11th ranking in doubles with Anastasia Zhukova in the ITA Southeast Region. Lindsey compiled an 18-5 record in 2006 season at number two winning, her final 14 matches consecutively.
She also won back-to-back SoCon player of week, and won the First Team All-SoCon accolades at the number one doubles position with Zhukova.
In the fall of 2006, she began her season ranked 47th nationally in doubles.
Ballard decided to come to UTC for a number of reasons.
She said she really enjoys the city of Chattanooga and it isn't that far from her home in Georgia. She also said the tennis program was very appealing to her.
This season will be challenging for the team with the loss of Zhukova, but the addition of three new freshman players will hopefully help the team play at a competitive level.
"This year I will be playing the number one spot, and I am really just looking to play good tennis and have a winning record," Ballard said.
"As a team, we are all looking to improve in our conference rankings and our goal is to be in the top 5 of the conference."
During the off season the team worked on many things to improve their game, like strengthening their endurance and quickness on the court.
"During the off-season, I worked hard on improving my serve, forehand and my footwork. I also worked on being more aggressive during matches," Ballard said.
Being a senior this year, Ballard has a lot of responsibility leading the younger players on the team.
"I am just trying to help them understand the concept of college tennis, it's a lot different from junior tennis," Ballard said.
"I am trying to encourage them as much as possible, with keeping grades up and getting used to the traveling."
"After I graduate this year, I am still undecided as to what I would like to do. I may return home and evaluate job opportunities or I may return to UTC and get my masters in education."
