The Observer, April 28, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 26
Freshman fills big shoes at number one spot
click to enlarge
Being at the top spot in any sport can be a daunting task, but being a freshman and having to fulfill this role can be even harder.
This was the case for freshman Marta Worwag, as she played number one singles for the Case women's tennis team this season. She is not only new to the university, but also relatively new to the sport, as she has only been playing competitively since her sophomore year at Granville High School.
Worwag's inspiration to play tennis came from her dad, who was the athlete of the family, and urged her to participate in as many sports as possible. She now enjoys snowboarding, skiing, windsurfing in addition to tennis.
"He was the one who originally introduced me to the sport, which I grew to love," said Worwag. "Nowadays I give him tennis lessons."
Her dad was not the only person she was giving lessons to this season, as she tallied 13 wins during her first season, including eight at singles and five at doubles. Worwag's greater success at singles came as no surprise to her.
"I am definitely a singles player because I feel I have much more control of the court and my feelings," she said. "Tennis is also 95 percent mental, so sometimes it is easier to deal with just your own mental problems. When you add in another mind, it feels as though I need to think about pacifying both minds."
Although she enjoys playing singles more, Worwag adjusted to playing doubles over the course of the season.
"Doubles has started to grow on me. I am starting to learn more doubles strategy, and it is actually a much more interesting game. I was just too used to the singles game," she said.
Half the battle playing doubles is knowing the actions of your partner and where he or she is going to be at every moment when the ball is hit. It takes time to build this mental telepathy to become a successful doubles team. With all of the expectations, one would think Worwag would feel pressure to succeed, but her mindset has been the opposite.
"I don't feel that much pressure because I have learned that worrying about those things only makes it more difficult to win," she said. "Since I'm a freshman, I feel that I will be forgiven for messing up sometimes. I'm still learning. I can only improve."
Improving is exactly what she hopes to do. Her individual goal in tennis is to become a tennis instructor. She has recently been training in Florida, improving her strokes in order to get good enough to use them properly.
Improvement is her main goal for the team as well. "[The goal is] to improve our game as much as possible, especially the mental part of it," she said. "Most of the girls on the team have their strokes mastered, but they let their minds get to them during match play. I think we all are working on becoming more mentally tough."
Part of that mental toughness is also the ability to balance classes and other activities with athletics. Although tennis is a major part of Worwag's schedule, she keeps herself busy with school work as a public health major. In the future, she hopes to be in medical school or working for a public health organization, thinking of ways to prevent diseases in populations and advocating healthy lifestyles.
Looking ahead with tennis, there appears to much more excitement to come for Worwag and the Case women's tennis team as they continue to improve and build upon their experiences.
