A Player's Perspective
10/09/2002 | Women's Tennis
Oct. 9, 2002
Lindsay Woodworth Rall was a four-year letterwinner for the Richmond women's tennis program from 1995-99. She graduated summa cum laude and garnered The Presidential Citation Award for having the highest grade point average of any Richmond student-athlete. Woodworth Rall now works as a marketing manager for the firm of Handango.
There were many reasons why I chose the University of Richmond over all the other colleges I was looking to attend: the quality of the business school, the gorgeous campus, the friendly students and the location. Most of all, I chose Richmond because of the tennis program and because of Mark Wesselink. I just can't say enough good things about my experiences as a tennis player at Richmond. I knew that tennis was going to be a big part of my college life, but just how big was quite a shocker. Practice everyday, weekend road trips, weight training, team meetings, etc... It was challenging balancing all of that with classes, homework, group projects and a typical college social life. But Mark made being a well-balanced student athlete much easier than I think most coaches would have. He took our tennis very seriously, but was sensitive to and appreciative of our lives off the court as well. He wanted us to be well-rounded and happy because I think he believed that it would ultimately make us better tennis players. He made things fun for the most part (except for the track days) and always made himself available to chat. Mark is more than a coach-he's a listener and a counselor and a friend. Mark was also very sensitive to the personality of the team and its members. Although not everyone got along all the time, the overall dynamics of the team were great and some of my best friends were on that team. And if you've never experienced college tennis, you have no idea how much more fun it is to be part of team rather than playing individually all the time like in juniors competition. Who doesn't want to win more and fight harder when there are seven screaming girls backing you up on every shot? Two of the most memorable and rewarding moments of my college career, and of my life, were when upsets of highly ranked teams, South Florida and Virginia, came down to my final doubles match. More than anything, I wanted to win these matches not for myself, but for the two graduating seniors that year who had never beaten South Florida, and for Mark because he had never beaten Virginia before. We fought off multiple match points in both matches and pulled them out in the end. Without being a college athlete, I never would have gotten to experience the natural high that I felt on those days. In addition to Mark and his dedication, the University of Richmond Athletic Department was very supportive of the women's tennis program and the resources provided were plentiful. I was and still am very proud to say I was on the tennis team at Richmond. I feel like we as a team accomplished a lot in my four years, and I know it's a little trite to say this, but all the hard work really did pay off. I matured both personally and in my tennis game. I gained life-long friends and took away with me a valuable diploma and four years worth of fun and meaningful memories.