College Students Find a Community with Tennis on Campus

Players who initially don’t qualify for the team sometimes have opportunities later in the semester to join or still get invited to team-bonding functions, as Zahuranec said the group hates turning potential players away altogether.

The Saint Louis University club tennis team practices twice per week year-round except during finals weeks. Players train at Dwight Davis Tennis Center during the summer, fall and spring and move indoors to Woodsmill Tennis Club in Chesterfield during the winter months. Practices can consist of games, drills and matches against teammates to sharpen skills.

Zahuranec — who has played tennis her whole life and didn’t want to give up the sport after high school ended — is part of a group chat comprised of other club tennis presidents. She gets and gives tournament updates and works to add as many tourneys as possible to SLU’s schedule. Two to six teams typically participate in a given tournament.

“It’s a great opportunity to allow people to pursue things they were passionate about previously,” Zahuranec said. “It’s really awesome to know when varsity isn’t an option or something people want to do, we are still there. We are there to help anyone who wants to get involved. We push them to be better and do better in any way we can.”

The USTA Tennis On Campus National Championship is the sport’s pinnacle. Typically held in either Florida or Arizona in April, the Tennis On Campus National Championship features 64 colleges representing 15 USTA Sections. Saint Louis University qualified for the event in 2020, but the tournament was canceled due to Covid-19.

“That’s ultimately the goal — to make it to that tournament and succeed,” Zahuranec said. “It’s just a really great opportunity to get to know everyone from around the country. In the regions, we play Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. It’s an incredible skill level and a really cool tournament.”

Zahuranec — a health management major who is in her first year of an accelerated master’s program for health administration — said the SLU club tennis program has left an indelible mark on her. She hopes to leave a similar mark behind on the organization via her legacy as a player and multiyear leader.

“A big part of freshman year was just looking to find myself somewhere where I felt comfortable,” Zahuranec said. “That was definitely something I needed. Just to be able to grow and feel more confident walking into SLU, making friends and getting to know people. Coming anywhere from five minutes or five hours from home — either way, college is a big transition period.

“I saw myself go from that first-year student who didn’t necessarily know what was going to happen, what college is about, and grow into someone who can see honestly the next 5, 10 years of my life laid out. Club tennis really started that foundation for me. Cub tennis is not only a place where people find their friends, but also find who they are.”