Adelie Chen '26 Recruiting Profile

Hi! My name is Adelie Chen! 

I have been a competitive tennis player most of my life, and with that, I have had the "tennis is a single-player, single-team sport" mentality that is indifferent from most junior competitive players. Although it was hard to get rid of that frame of mind, it slowly began dissolving by itself as I joined my Portage Central women's tennis team. Especially being a captain since my sophomore year, I enjoyed the leading process and bonding with people that I discovered supported and cheered me on in competitions, which I had almost never experienced before. 

Now, I can say that my best memory of high school tennis (so far!) wasn't when I won states my freshman year and was interviewed straight after or when I won the one singles position my sophomore year, but the moments where my teammates run onto court to hug and congratulate me. This especially stood out to me, as I began to realize that I wholly loved the team aspect. The overall goal that I have decided through my time playing tennis is to continue enjoying the feeling of hitting a well-placed shot that ends a perfectly executed point setup while supporting and being supported by those I consider some of my closest friends.

Academics-wise, I am an all-honors student at Portage Central, while taking both AP and IB classes, and a student of KAMSC, Kalamazoo Math and Science Center, a prestigious STEM program only accepting 80 kids from the Kalamazoo and St. Joe Scool districts. I pride myself on the service awards that I have received every year, with my favorite being tennis volunteering. On the side, I am a private tennis coach to young tennis players and I find it especially commendable to refresh the basic fundamentals implemented into coaching/leading skills, and seeing the growth of others!