MANAGING EDITOR – SOPIA KUSSEL
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCT 25 2023
Last week, it was announced that Selina Wu is the only freshman in the country at Division II to qualify for the ITA Cup this season. Wu opened up about her feelings and her accomplishments at St. Mary’s. This freshman’s journey to this is nothing short of inspiring.
Selina Wu, a student and a player in Women’s tennis, has made a name for herself in Division II tennis. Her talent and hard work have earned her a qualification in this upcoming season at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Cup championships. When asked about how she felt, Wu had this to say: “Being the only freshman in the country at Division II to qualify for the ITA cup is really shocking for me,” Wu said. “I didn’t know, as a freshman, I could do that as well. T here’s so many good players out there and there’s so many upperclassmen, such as sophomores, juniors, seniors, and just being the only freshman is just something that I didn’t think could happen to me as well.”
Wu started her tennis career at an early age and quickly established herself as a formidable player during high school. Her talent quickly caught the attention of St. Mary’s athletics, which led her to join the St. Mary’s tennis team in Aug. 2023. “Well, my journey started off when I was younger, “ Wu stated. “My dad introduced me to tennis actually and it runs in the family, but at the age of, I believe 12, I started playing more competitively and I just wanted to train more and become better,” Wu continued.
Throughout the years, Wu has been able to excel in the sport and grow from any losses. Her recent accomplishments let her know that her performance is only getting better. “Reaching the finals of the South Central Regional gave me a huge confidence boost and also helped me mentally a lot since the previous last two matches I lost in a very tight set. My performance…I just thought was going down completely. I didn’t have any confidence hitting my shots. I just got really frustrated really easily, but with being able to reach the finals of the South Central draw, I was able to get fired up again and become really confident in what I was doing.” Like any competition, ITA is an accomplishment that can cause feelings of nervousness and stress, especially when faced with having to represent your school.
However, Wu has found ways to prepare herself when those feelings arise. “Some of my preparations and training routines leading up to this event is basically an hour before the match. I would listen to some hype and some calming music because usually before match, I feel really tense and need to calm myself down. I also do my dynamic warm up stretches, so I don’t get injured and just talking to my coach, visualizing what I need to do on the court and how I’m supposed to play, and just tell myself to just go out there and have fun.” With ITA nearing, Wu is already preparing her mindset and technique. Each athlete has their own process, but Wu emphasized that her main goal for the conference is to not only use her skillset and learn but also to have fun. “I just go out there and play, but I do want to play against the top players, of course, to try my best and win. They all have a really good set of skills that I can learn from and just want to improve.”
As Selina Wu continues her journey in the world of collegiate tennis, her story serves as an inspiration to future St. Mary’s athletes and a testament to the rewards of hard work and dedication. The student body eagerly awaits her performance at the ITA Cup, where she aims to leave a memorable mark on St. Mary’s athletics.