Tennis on Campus

The USTA National Campus Championship is the pinnacle event for college club tennis teams from around the country. Sixty-four colleges qualify for the championship through their respective USTA Campus Championship - Section Events and compete for bragging rights and the illustrious title of National Champion. The 2011 event is taking place April 7-9 at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C., just a 30-minute drive from Duke University, whose 60-member Tennis On Campus club, founded in 1991, will be competing in the championship. USTA.com recently spoke with team president Stephanie Dudzinski about her team’s chances in the tournament, why they have been so successful, their favorite moment of the season and much more.

USTA.com: What is your team doing to prepare for the upcoming National Campus Championship?

Club President Stephanie Dudzinski: We plan to prepare for Nationals in a similar method as we prepared for sectionals. We’ll hold practice every day, play singles, doubles and mixed practice matches, and frequently hit serves. Hopefully, with the help of our ball machine, we’ll also be able to really work on our groundstrokes and volleys. We’re hoping to have another clinic with our men’s varsity coach so he can advise us on some techniques and strategies to improve our games.

USTA.com: What is your team looking forward to most about attending the National Campus Championship?

Stephanie Dudzinski: We are really excited that the National Campus Championships are in Cary, N.C.! Since the site is so close to Duke’s campus, a lot of our friends and family can come and support us and see how our hard work has paid off this year.

USTA.com: What are your team goals at this year’s National Campus Championship? Any predictions on your placement or outcome?

Stephanie Dudzinski: A lot of our key players are underclassmen, and our national’s win two years ago has inspired us to work very hard to gain another title. We’ve had some pretty strong performances from our team in the past few months, so we hope that our determination and work ethic will help us achieve a high placement at nationals.

USTA.com: What are some of the things you attribute to the success of your team?

Stephanie Dudzinski: I think our team’s dedication and time commitment to our practices has made a strong impact on our performances at tournaments. Whether our practices are held at 10:30 p.m. on a Monday night or at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning, our players show up with high energy, wanting to work hard, play well and have fun.

USTA.com: What advice do you have for fellow club tennis teams that are striving to qualify for the National Campus Championship?

Stephanie Dudzinski: We believe that positive attitudes, team support and dedication have really molded our team into a strong group. Not only do we practice and play together, but we also hang out and do social things together. This friendliness and positivity is infectious within our matches and helps to boost our confidence. We suggest that strong team bonding on and off the court, as well as dedicated teammates, can really enhance any club team.

USTA.com: Does your team have any unusual or unique pre-match rituals? Any team superstitions?

Stephanie Dudzinski: We can’t really recall any unusual pre-match rituals. Most of us just listen to music before our matches. However, every year one of our senior guys has received some sort of driving ticket while at sectionals. This did not occur this past year, so we better drive carefully at nationals, as well!

USTA.com: Describe your typical practice schedule or week with your team before a big tournament?

Stephanie Dudzinski: We usually practice every day before a big tournament and play lots of practice sets against each other. Also, we have music playlists that we listen to on the way to our matches to get us pumped up and ready to go! 

USTA.com: Are there any teams you are hoping to meet at the National Campus Championship? Any big team rivalries?

Stephanie Dudzinski: The past few years, our team has always seemed to end up playing NC State, no matter how far away we travel for a tournament. Our teams always joke that we could have skipped all the traveling and just played each other back at home. Although we love getting to play against great teams, like NC State and UNC, right in our own backyard, we look forward to having the opportunity to play other teams from across the country.

USTA.com: What has been your team’s favorite Tennis On Campus moment this year?

Stephanie Dudzinski: Winning sectionals was definitely a big highlight for us. The weekend seemed perfect. Everyone played great while having a fun time, and we had great results! With our great performances, beautiful weather and a well-run tournament, we couldn’t have asked for more that weekend.

USTA.com: If you could add one professional player to your team’s roster, who would it be and why?

Stephanie Dudzinski: We would probably add a tall, strong woman, such as Serena Williams. The tallest girl on our roster is 5-foot-2, so it would be nice to have a woman who could size up our opponents and add a little extra strength to our team.

USTA.com: What type of community involvement has your team been a part of?

Stephanie Dudzinski: We are fortunate enough that Duke has a program called Duke-Durham Tennis Alliance, in which many of our players participate. Through this program, we go to local elementary schools and teach children how to play tennis through a variety of fun games and drills.

USTA.com: If your team won the National Campus Championship title, how would you celebrate? Would you take the trophy anywhere interesting?

Stephanie Dudzinski: If our team won the Nationals Campus Championship, we would definitely have a party with our trophy, but besides that, we’re not really sure what we’d do with it. We’ll just see how the tournament goes, and hopefully, by the end, we’ll have a trophy to take with us on the long 30-minute drive back home.