Darby Allison '24 Recruiting Profile

From an early age I knew that playing tennis was going to shape my future. I have been a virtual school student since I was 12 years old (7^th grade) having the ability to attend junior tennis tournaments across the United States (mainly Southern, Missouri and Texas) and still playing on the high school tennis team.  Being a virtual student has taught me how to manage my time and the importance of following a schedule and staying on top of my school assignments.  

The summer of before my sophomore year, I realized I needed a stronger level of tennis practice/competition than I had available in my area. My family and I found a tennis academy in Kansas and as a 15-year-old, I started attending Elite Tennis Academy with Mike Wolf. A few weeks after I turned 16 years old, I was driving myself one way (3 ½ hours), boarding/living with a family, and only coming home every other weekend. I was training an average of 6 hours per day and keeping up with high school classes (maintaining a 3.2 GPA).

Unfortunately, injuries causing a few setbacks in the middle of my junior tennis career, I have not been able to show or even hit my true potential on the court. I envision my college years to be a personal growth period. 

All these experiences helped prepare me with the ability to balance the demands of academics and tennis travel/training in college. My goal in college is to explore a criminal justice or engineering major. On the court, I plan to be a dynamic player and positive influence on the team.