Bahamian collegiate tennis player ready for second half of season
- Simba French
- 6 hrs ago
- 0
Bahamian collegiate tennis player Sydney Clarke had a busy Christmas holiday break at home and has since returned to the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in Birmingham, Alabama, for her senior season. The UAB Blazers first dual back will be a battle against Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday January 13.
“Now that the season is quickly approaching, I’m getting my mind and body ready for our first match January 13. If I continue to have a positive attitude while being resilient, I will be successful,” Clarke said.
“I am very excited to hit the courts with my teammates one last time. I look forward to ending the season either winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for my team, being recognized by our conference during the season, first team all-conference, or achieving a collegiate ranking in singles or doubles. The leadership role has been great. I’ve seen improvement in myself and my teammates. I’ve done a great job this semester leading by example/setting a standard for our team,” Clarke said.
The fall season, which is mainly invitationals, was a strong one for Clarke as she sported a 7-3 win/loss record individually. She has had five different doubles partners this season and has a 5-2 record in doubles. This is the grueling part of the season as she will play in Conference-USA action.
“I’ve worked on my fitness a lot more this semester which has been very helpful for me while playing,” Clarke stated.
The right-handed player alluded to her team being together for two years, adding that it should help them make some noise in the conference tournament.
“I’m very confident that we are going to go deep in conference play,” Clarke said. “We would need to continue to build our skills while accepting setbacks in order to get the breakthrough we want. This fall semester, everyone has done a great job with stepping out of their comfort zone. If we continue to make the same efforts, we will have a great season.”
Clarke is studying entrepreneurship, pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree.