By Alex Nash
At the 2024 Northwest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament, Lewis & Clark’s own Susanna Anand ’26 won four singles matches, making her the first Pioneer to reach the finals in a regional tennis tournament since 2016.
A long, deep-rooted history with the sport of tennis preceded Anand’s journey to the regional tournament’s finals.
“I’ve been playing since I was three,” Anand said.
Her early beginnings in tennis can be traced back to her family’s strong interest in the sport.
“My dad has been coaching me ever since I was little. We’re a big tennis family,” Anand said.
As Anand has grown up and remained continuously involved in tennis, she knew going into college she wanted to continue that streak.
“I’ve been playing so long. It’s just one of those things that you’ve been doing for so long and so you take that next step of going to college and playing a college sport,” she said.
Anand, a current junior, has fostered an encouraging and tight-knit network within her three years of playing tennis at the collegiate level.
“I love being in a supportive community and making close friendships,” she said.
She has also had to contend with the issue of balancing her time well, something she has encountered constantly while being a collegiate athlete, as well as a computer science and mathematics major.
“I guess challenges would be just the aspect of getting work and sports done. It’s always challenging,” she said.
Anand has to attend tennis practices every weekday, which follow a structured routine designed in order to best prepare players for upcoming competitions and events.
“First, we warm up. After we warm up, we typically do a lot of drilling and point play, and we also try to do a lot of match play and practice to get ready for the upcoming season. That’s usually how it goes,” Anand said.
In the lead up to the regional tournament, Anand was also dedicating several additional hours towards tennis outside of team practices by continuing to practice on weekends and committing to a regular gym schedule.
“I was going to the gym a lot, every day. Physically, just practicing every day and playing matches almost every day,” she said.
All of this additional practice was in preparation for Anand to have the best chance at meeting her goal going into the tournament.
“My goal was to win the tournament, and I came as close as I could. So I think having a higher goal than what I guess the expectation should be, can help get me as close as I can to that,” Anand said.
Though she did not secure the top spot in the tournament, Anand’s rigorous commitment to the sport took her far, allowed her to persevere through tough moments in the competition and ultimately led to her winning four singles matches.
“The tournament was very long. I had some very long matches. I guess my best match was probably in the semi-finals. I was down 5-2 and ended up winning that set. And I was down 5-3 and ended up winning that set also. So I guess, just coming back from such a big deficit was a highlight,” Anand said.
Those two matches exemplify a lesson Anand has learned throughout her time as a tennis player that helps her both on and off the court.
“One of the things in tennis is that it’s important to be patient, and you have to be tough mentally. And that really helps with other stuff off the court, just having to deal with frustration and anger and various types of people. So that definitely helps,” Anand said.
Following her four victories at the regional tournament, Anand has mixed feelings going forward.
“I mean, I’m sad it’s over. I wish I could keep going. Fall season is really short, but I’m looking forward to spring, for sure,” she said.
Though the fall season for LC’s women’s tennis team has ended, Anand remains eager to build on her progress in the upcoming spring season, which will begin the first week of February 2025.
About the Author
