With 180 members, Mizzou's club tennis team combines competition, community

Anjali Noel-Ramesh grew up in Columbia, Mo., the home of the University of Missouri. Now a senior at the school, Noel-Ramesh has found a home within the Mizzou club tennis team, where she currently serves as the president.

She’s not alone. The Tigers’ strong club tennis program is comprised of eight individuals on its executive team and about 180 members in all.

“I feel like we have a sense of responsibility representing Mizzou, even though we are just a club team,” Noel-Ramesh said. “We are a student-run organization, so we have to make sure to put our best foot forward and make sure we’re not causing problems. We just want to make sure that we have good relationships with other schools so that we can continue meeting them at tournaments.”

As a USTA Tennis On Campus program, Mizzou features a competition team that travels to play in events across the USTA Missouri Valley and country. Last March, Mizzou qualified for the USTA Tennis On Campus National Championships by placing third at the USTA Missouri Valley Tennis On Campus Section Championship in Springfield, Mo.

It was the first time in a long time the Tigers progressed to nationals. Dustin Peters, the club’s current vice president, served as president a year ago. A biochemistry major, Peters enjoys the camaraderie club tennis provides.

“Probably just being able to garner a team and create new connections,” Peters said was his favorite part of being a captain. “Especially with new freshmen coming in every year, it’s fun to see all the new relationships and friendships grow and just have a great time.”

Noel-Ramesh is an engineering major, which is one of the reasons she decided trying out for the varsity team at Missouri probably wasn’t the right fit.

“I knew that would also be a pretty big time commitment,” she said, “So I figured collegiate tennis just wasn’t the path for me.”