Bradley Tyer Jones
Contributing Writing
All photos credited to Bradley Tyer Jones
The economics, English, chemistry, finance, psychology, and biology majors all arrived on the mountain in August of 2021 to be a part of the Sewanee Women’s Tennis Team. All completely different people and different types of players, the diversity of these six girls created a stronger environment than we could have ever imagined. I asked my coach, Conchie Shackleford, what she thought about this group of girls once she got to know us. Having been a coach for over 30 years, and knowing her players extremely well, she very quickly responded: “I am constantly surprised by the various personalities that unveil themselves as you get to know your players on a deeper, personal level. When you’re recruiting a prospective student, you look at their grades, tennis ranking and where they come from. But the surprise is in what makes them tick, what motivates them, and what are their priorities… this team has a very competitive spirit and strong will (and they love my cookies!)”
The competitive spirit is very clearly present, and we all illustrate that in very different ways. Even though there are limited shots in tennis, we will each put our own spin on the same ball. I will lob anything, Brooke Despriet will slice, Ansley Carpenter will slap the life out of the ball that is impossible to return, Emma Caldwell will sit on the baseline and hit cross court until she wins the point, Sarah Livingston will poach at the net and will not give up until the point is over, and Cici Hardin will use her infamous underspin cross court short ball.
The idea of a team being a family is a “cheesy concept” Ansley Carpenter (C’ 25), the Biology major from Newnan, Georgia, mentioned when I spoke with her, “But it’s true. It really surprised me how close we are with each other… and even with the guy’s team. We have cookouts and everything, and it just seems more personal than I would have thought.”
The seniors this year are close with the freshmen as well, and that is not a dynamic college sports see very often. As Emma Caldwell, the psychology major from Wilton, Connecticut, puts it: “We’re close with the freshmen as seniors right now, and I think that’s so awesome.”
When asking each senior what they would tell their freshman self, everyone collectively said some form of “don’t take it so seriously.” Sarah Livingston, the Chemistry major from Fairfax, VA, infamous for screaming “SARAHHHHH!!” on the court, specifically shared “Don’t get so mad at yourself.” Though people have told us that college flies by, these four years have patiently taught us some of the most important lessons of our college lives. The endless hours of traveling together- to Italy, California, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, etc. have bonded the team in a way that a high school sport never could. Completing homework assignments on the bus, signing up for classes in the middle of nowhere Arkansas, going to big sit-down dinners together, and, most importantly, the ice cream runs the nights before and after matches are some of the most important aspects of our team dynamic. Doing the same thing for four years throughout college has forced us to look back at who we were as freshmen and see how far we have come. Cici Harden, the economics major from New Orleans, LA, was injured the first semester of our freshman year and turned around to hold a successful record of 16-1 combined singles and doubles matches.
One word comes to mind when I think of this team: success. Brooke Despriet, a finance major from Cumming, GA, was recently ranked #2 in the ITA National Doubles rankings with her partner Ansley Carpenter. Carpenter is also currently ranked #40 in the ITA National Singles Rankings. The team ranked in the top 10 in the nation our freshman year, and in the top 20 in the nation at the end of our sophomore and junior years. The team has won ten consecutive conference titles as well. And our wins aren’t just on the courts; the team worked diligently to earn the highest GPA for Sewanee’s varsity women’s sports with a 3.703 GPA last semester. This team works hard, and we motivate each other to be the best we can.
I, the English major from Atlanta, GA, have asked my mom, Cameron Tyer (C’93), to share some inside scoop on what it means even years later to be part of a team like ours. As a Sewanee tennis alum, seven-time All-American, National Senior Player of the Year (1993), a player of one of Conchie’s first teams, and the most successful person I know, my mom still keeps in close touch with her team from college, calling themselves “BFTE”- Best. F*cking. Team. Ever. I have always dreamed of having such a close relationship with my teammates, even before deciding where I was going to go to college. My mom shared with me that “the amount of time you spend together with a group of girls, studying, exercising, and eating all of Conchie’s desserts with, will instantly form a close environment in the sport. Sure, my team had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day we always had each other’s backs.”
This group of senior girls is special. Yes, we have had, and do still have our ups and downs, but I believe graduation will not be the last time we see each other.
One final question I asked a couple of senior girls was about how they handled the challenges of balancing school, job searching, and clubs with their tennis schedule. Although they all shared that it was challenging at times to stay on top of things, Emma Caldwell put it perfectly: “It’s definitely hard, but the coaches are very supportive and understanding. So, while it’s challenging, they make it very easy and the professors are very understanding as well. Tennis has never affected my grades- it’s very easy and manageable to do well.”
Sewanee Athletics as a whole can easily be seen as the close, tight-knit, family that it is. Every sport works hard to motivate each other and lift each sport/team member up. We all want to better ourselves as well as everyone else, and the community seen within a Division III Athletic Community allows for us to do that. Tennis has remained strong because of the entirety of the support received from Sewanee Athletics.
When we all move to different states, work different jobs, and have different lifestyles, we will all carry with us the life lessons that we learned together as a team. Sewanee tennis will definitely stay in our hearts forever.