![The cross country team poses for the camera after finishing the district meet. The varsity boys, JV boys and JV girls all placed third and the varsity girls placed fourth. “Coach put in the right training for us for this season, so I think we will be peaking this week and the next couple of weeks,” varsity runner and junior Nathan Kukla said. “The chances of making it to state are very high, but we don’t settle for the lowest and there is always going to be that chance, so [we] race for the best.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Heidi-831-1200x900.jpg)
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-1200x804.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, Author Ehigbor Okosun, members of Page Turners, and other students reflect on the author's visit. “I thought the visit was great,” Senior Amia De Leon said. “It was interesting talking to her and [getting to know] her process and her thoughts and books in general. But I think the reason it went well [was that] people got to ask questions. I'm glad that she said so much in response to the questions and it wasn't just one and done. [The author’s responses] felt very articulate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sebastian-5-1200x800.jpg)
![Standing in front of the field at a freshman football game, cheerleader freshman Jacob Gaudreau along with teammate freshman Bella Gibson pose for a photo during halftime of game. “[Cheer has] definitely given me a much more outgoing personality,” Gaudreau said. “I used to be very introverted, so it's definitely made me more extroverted towards people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ingrid-204-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Swinging with his arm extended, senior Nolan Park hits the ball smoothly over the net and to the opponent’s side. Park is one of four varsity tennis captains and helped the team win district championships. “Winning district champs was a pretty awesome feeling,” Park said. “We had lost to Liberty Hill a couple of weeks before, but when we played them [again], we came out and really took care of business. We took them out and it was just a really awesome night.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kassidy-419.jpg)
![Standing proud, varsity senior athletes Rafael Escobar, Griffin Jacobs, Jakob Martin, and juniors Jackson Springer and Jack Morris pose with their newly earned medals. The varsity team finished third out of 14 teams on Sept. 25. “The team's primary goal is to win the district championship,” head coach Cody Price said. "We're confident that with our action plan in place, we can accomplish this mission. [For the next tournament], our preparation involves assessing our strengths and weaknesses, celebrating milestones and creating individual development plans." Photo courtesy of Cody Price](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/golf.jpg)
Tennis Truths
The Unexpected Competition Of College Tennis
![Junior Bryce Bailey hits a net shot during the Georgetown tournament on on Feb. 8. "College tennis is extremely competitive in the sense that if you're a college tennis player, you could be competing against someone who is already [at a] professional level," Bailey said.](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_1579-900x600.jpg)
Junior Bryce Bailey hits a net shot during the Georgetown tournament on on Feb. 8. “College tennis is extremely competitive in the sense that if you’re a college tennis player, you could be competing against someone who is already [at a] professional level,” Bailey said.
March 4, 2019
Every year, high school tennis players strive for greatness by attempting to reach their goal of playing on a college tennis team and many also try for scholarship money. Achieving this, however, is far more of a challenge than one would expect, due to the competitive nature of the sport and the limited number of offered scholarship programs.
According to CollegeScholarships.org, the most common form of scholarship money is from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. In terms of options for women’s tennis, there are approximately 320 Division I, 212 Division II and 361 Division III scholarship programs and the NCAA allows for eight scholarships for each Division I and six for each Division II. Men’s tennis, on the other hand, is even more of a challenge, where there are about 263 Division I, 161 Division II and 314 Division III tennis scholarship programs and each Division I and Division II are allowed about four and a half scholarships.
Varsity tennis player and junior, Bryce Bailey, said that despite being a United States Tennis Association champ in the 18s age bracket, he is doubtful he will have the opportunity to play in college.
“As far as college tennis goes, I’m not really sure if I will [play] because scholarships are only offered to Division II and above,” Bailey said. “College tennis is extremely competitive because you’re competing for a spot on any college team with people around the world. [This includes] Europeans, plus a good majority of college players are nationally or internationally ranked.”
According to Scholarshipstats.com, a website which uses and compiles statistical data from many official college team rosters, only an average of 4.4 percent of high school boys and 4 percent of high school girls go on to play college tennis. Due to this information and the personal experiences of the players, Bailey is not the only one who isn’t sure about playing in college.
“College tennis is a mental game and individual game,” varsity tennis player and sophomore, Sierra Setliff, said. “I might just play as a hobby to focus on my studies because I know how much time is put into college tennis and I’d rather spend it on my [education].”
One student-athlete, however, is planning on taking it to the big leagues. After deciding to take her senior year off from the school tennis team to focus on her education and her own personal game, senior Kylee Ramsey said that she hopes to play collegiate tennis in a competitive conference with a school that has a solid record.
“Playing collegiate tennis has been the biggest dream of mine,” Ramsey said. “To have the opportunity to play a sport I love while also furthering my education is something I’m so grateful for. I want to be part of a team that is built on a close-knit community, where we encourage one another to accomplish a new goal each day.”
Ramsey’s current plan is to play for a Division III school, but these schools are not authorized by NCAA to give scholarship money. Although, according to Ramsey, most schools will work with the coach to figure out a way to get the student as much financial aid as possible if they believe that that the student is a strong contender for their team. The student is also required by most schools to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
“I personally have applied to a few local scholarships already,” Ramsey said. “Every coach I’ve talked to thus far has told me I will receive money from the university based on my GPA [and] test scores.”
While college tennis is something Ramsey is working hard towards, she also said that she is well aware of the dedication and perseverance it takes to be on a team and is ready to take on the challenge.
“I truly think tennis is competitive because of the fact that everything you do is dependent upon yourself,” Ramsey said. “Tennis is also very much a mental sport. If you feel nervous, then you’re going to get tense and it will reflect in your game. I have yet to decide where I will be playing, but I know that playing college tennis will be the best years of my life.”
