by Jensen Kugler
Women’s tennis opened their season with ten total wins at the Kenyon Invitational. Win or lose, they play like a family. For one first-year, that means everything.
Lauren Richmond ’27 is a first-year member of the varsity women’s tennis team, and tennis got her through one of the hardest experiences of her life: leukemia. “[My coach Ric Harden] got me into tennis. And so I would seriously go to the hospital and get a [chemo shot] in my back and [then] I would come back for my lesson and play,” said Richmond. “Tennis kind of kept me going for a long time.”
Harden was a one-person support system for Richmond’s family during her treatments, and remained a prominent figure in her life afterward. According to Richmond, his memory also pushed her to play at the collegiate level.“I think me playing tennis in college is kind of for him,” said Richmond, “I feel like I’m meant to do it.”
The way in which Richmond learned about Wooster suggests that she really may have been destined to play tennis here. In her home town of Erie, Pennsylvania, not many people have heard of the College. Richmond herself only discovered Wooster by playing tennis. “I heard about [Wooster] from a tennis coach from an opposing team, and his daughter went here,” said Richmond. “He really liked [Wooster tennis] coach Amy [Behrman] and he knew I really wanted to play college tennis.”
Tennis has continued to have a positive impact on Richmond during her time at Wooster because of the women’s tennis team’s support of each other on and off the court. In fact, the team’s atmosphere drew her to Wooster in the first place.
“At one point, I kind of decided that I just didn’t want to go to a big school. That wasn’t for me. And then I chose between small schools because I figured that would be where I was more comfortable. So I kind of chose which school I felt the most comfortable at, the most at home at, and I really like the campus.” Richmond added that “the [tennis team] girls welcomed me and I really, really liked the coach. So it was just a really good all-around situation [and] super welcoming. I wanted to come here because I definitely felt like a sibling to them.”
For Richmond, tennis is a sport impacted significantly by mindset. In her first matches, she had some performance anxiety, but her doubles partner, Abby Aitken ’24, helped her manage that stress. This is just one example of how the women’s tennis team creates a loving atmosphere for each other. As a result, the team is less scared of losing and more confident in their ability to win matches.
“The way they encourage me reminds me a lot of [how Ric encouraged me], so it’s very comforting,” said Richmond. “They never fail to cheer me up and encourage me and they’re always encouraging people at practice. And I just think that having that uplifting energy is really important to have for a team.”
The women’s tennis team next competes at the ITA Regional Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri on Sept. 22, Sept. 23 and Sept. 24.