Which league are you a member of?
How long have you participated in
your league?
I joined TennisMinneapolis in the
fall of 2015, when I moved to the Twin Cities from Los Angeles.
How did you first learn about it?
When I relocated to the Twin Cities,
I was looking for tennis tournaments in the area, and it wasn't more than a few
web searches before TennisMinneapolis came on my radar. I soon signed up for
the September 2015 tournament. I played Austin Povilaitis in the first round of
that tournament (beat him, although for the record he had beaten me several
times since) and learned about TennisMinneapolis' seasonal leagues through
Austin.
How often do you play?
I play as much as I can, which is
often four or five times a week when the weather is nice.
What do you like most about the
league?
The league has been a great way to
meet so many great tennis players in the area, and to explore so many Twin
Cities parks. The flexibility is also fantastic. It's a good fit for players
wanting to play five matches or 20 matches in a season.
Tell us about your most memorable
match(es)
The league website generates a list
of greatest rivals, and many of my most memorable matches have been against my
greatest rival--Feng Wan. Wan and I almost always have gone three sets, and
many of those sets have been 7-6, 7-5 or 6-4. It's always a battle against Wan.
Who are your favorite rivals in the
league? Why?
In addition to Wan, Chris
Staples and Povilaitis. Wan for those long three-setters, Staples for his
relentless heavy topspin forehands and Povilaitis for his monster serve and
powerful ground strokes.
Do you have any other interesting
comments about your experiences with the league?
I love all the stats on the
website.
How did you get started playing
tennis?
I started playing seriously in high
school. I was more of a baseball player at the time, but when weighing the pros
and cons of playing baseball or tennis my freshman year of high school, it was
clear that I'd get much more playing time if I opted for tennis, so I did.
What level player are you? (NTRP
rating)
4.0. My 4.0 team from USTA Northern
recently went to nationals in Arizona, and I'm now playing on a 4.5 team. I'm
co-captaining that 4.5 team.
What do you love about tennis?
The physical and mental battles. I
go back and forth on which I need to work more on. Some days I'm in the game
mentally but not there physically. And some days vice versa. That's tennis.
Tell us a little bit about yourself,
for example: What do you do? Where did you grow up? What are your hobbies
(besides tennis)? (Feel free to share any interesting details about your life.)
I grew up on the East Coast, went to
college in Atlanta and did graduate work in Massachusetts, Indiana and Los
Angeles. I have a background in music theory and journalism, and currently work
as a reporter covering the legal sector.
