College athletes usually spend four years on campus trying to make it as a Division-I athlete. But separating from the pack demands significantly more time and energy.
ASU’s sophomore tennis standout Kelcy McKenna is a perfect example. With barely a year of college experience under her belt, it is easy to see how her previous 18 years have served her.
Tennis was always part of McKenna’s life, as her older sister also played in college. By age 10, McKenna was practicing with her dad three to four days per week.
She and her father would practice for about a half an hour and also play catch with the baseball to work on her arm strength.
McKenna was brought up around sports, and she used tennis to scratch her overwhelming competitive itch. Being from a small town like North Bend, Ore., McKenna said she had to go above and beyond to find suitable competition.
McKenna tried playing with people from her hometown, but there were not any kids her age that she could compete against. Better yet, compete against her.
As a result, McKenna and her father, also her coach, either made eight-hour drives to Seattle, Wash., or four-hour ones to Portland, Ore., to play in tournaments on weekends.
“When you travel that far to play, you really understand the time and effort that goes in to it,” McKenna said. “I wanted to play my best because I knew it was important.”
When there were no tournaments in either of those cities, it was off to Yakima, Wash., which was a 10 to 12-hour drive.
Driving all over the Pacific Northwest for tournaments has made McKenna a fierce competitor. If it involves competition — McKenna is interested. Just ask ASU coach Sheila McInerney.
“She leads by example,” McInerney said. “She is one of the hardest workers and loves the weight room.”
McKenna traveled to and from these tournaments from the time she was 10 years old until she set foot on ASU’s campus.
McKenna did get a break, if you could call it that, from August to December when she was busy competing on her high school volleyball team. She had success in that sport too; She was named two-time state player of the year and led her team to the state title her senior year.
McKenna’s skill has been on display but her modesty is apparent. In fact, the better McKenna is at something, the more embarrassed she is discussing it.
When asked about her high school tennis career her cheeks got red and she was hesitant to answer.
“This is ridiculous, this is so embarrassing,” McKenna said. She added that she never lost a match in high school and won four consecutive state championships.
McKenna’s years of hard work has paid off in a big way.
Earlier this season, she defeated the No. 1 player in the nation en route to capturing the All-American Championships title — one of the most prestigious in collegiate tennis.
Although McKenna loves competing in all sports, she is now able to focus solely on tennis. With the resources she has at ASU, McKenna no longer needs to drive 12 hours to find a good match.
“Before I was lucky if I could even get a good one-on-one match,” McKenna said. “Now there are seven or eight girls on my team that can help me out.”
Reach the reporter at todonnel@asu.edu.
