Natalie Howell '24 Recruiting Profile

I have been playing tennis since I was 5 years old and have always loved the sport.  Whether it is playing with my Dad or with friends, watching on television, or attending tournaments; I experience a lot of personal satisfaction when tennis is involved.   Since I played multiple sports growing up (primarily lacrosse and field hockey) it was not until the last 4-5 years that I began to play tennis competitively - in Club tournaments, USTA tournaments and in high school.   I have been training and practicing at PassAcademy and Mitchell Frank, and I play tennis every day.  Since my freshman year I have played line three singles on my varsity high school team where I was undefeated this fall.

Although COVID interrupted my ability to progress in competitive tennis, I used that time to work harder on my academics and to think about the future.  This is when I realized that competitive tennis is what really drives me.  Through tennis I learned about the pressure of competing individually and how to persevere when things don’t go my way.  I also learned that I needed to balance tennis and academics to enable me to find the right fit for me in college.  While I’m not yet set on an academic major, I have worked to maintain a competitive GPA in high school so that I have choices when it comes time to apply for college, including a school where I can continue to pursue my passion for tennis.