Kate Townsend '22 Recruiting Profile

        My name is Kate Townsend and I am currently a junior at Park High School in Cottage grove, MN.  I started out playing number 4 singles on my varsity tennis team in 7th grade and rotated between 1,2 and 3 singes in 8th grade.  My freshmen year was the first year that I played number 1 singles and I have stayed at that spot.  I have had a lot of success in this position and even have been All Conference for three years.  I play many tough schools in my conference and enjoy the competition and it overall makes me a better player.  This year my overall record was 10-3 and I won many tough matches and great wins.  My primary focus is singles, but I still enjoy doubles and would love to improve at it.  I am very quick on the court which makes me a great defensive player when it is needed.  My strokes are very consistent in a match and I am a very smart player.  I can handle pace well and prefer to hit with pace and play people who prefer this too.  My strong mental toughness is another reason why I have been successful with tennis.  I am able to keep my mind clear and just focus on winning which has allowed me to many wins.  

     You will notice that my section USTA ranking is only at 130.  This is due to not being able to play a lot of tournaments.  You have to play tons of tournaments to build up points.  I played HS basketball my freshman and sophomore year, which hasn't allowed me to play tournaments on the weekends during the winter season.  I decided not to play HS basketball this year, so I could focus on building up points to improve that ranking.  I was able to get one level 5 tournament in during November and made it to the quarterfinals before losing to the top rated player in the 16's and under bracket.  I was signed up for another level 5 tourney over Thanksgiving weekend and that is when all the tennis clubs closed due to the Governor's executive order.  To keep things in perspective, myself and Lily Cade from Cretin HS were the two top players in our HS section this season.  Lily Cade is ranked #20 in USTA in the same age level bracket (16's).  I beat Lily Cade in three sets during the HS tennis season this past fall.  She beat me twice my sophomore year in close matches and I was able to grind her down and exploit her weaknesses this past season.  It was a great HS tennis match!  With that being said, I am excited with continuing to play USTA tourneys once they reopen tennis clubs.  I am very confident that I can get my ranking below 50 by the end of the summer.  That is my goal.

        While tennis is very important to me, academics is still my top priority.  I strive to be a well-balanced athlete and to excel in both school and tennis. I have taken many IB, AP, and honors classes to challenge myself academically.  I have put in a lot of work in school which has allowed me to maintain a cumulative GPA of 4.14.  I try to balance my time between school, tennis and the extracurricular activities that I am in.  I do a lot of volunteer work because I am in both Key Club ad National Honors Society.  I just recently won the Excel award at Park HS.  This award is only given to one male and one female in the junior class.  This award has to deal with excellence in community involvement, academics and leadership roles.  This was a huge honor and now I will go on to compete at the state level.   I am looking for a college where I can excel both academically as athletically.

        I believe that I will be an asset to a college tennis program because of my strong work ethic, determination, my positive attitude/ mind set and my willingness to take feedback. I am very hard working in practice and in matches.  I am always looking for ways to improve my game and be the best tennis players that I can be.  I go after every ball in matches and work hard even when I am down in hopes of making a comeback.  In addition to this, I am a very determined player.  I don't give up easily in matches and I am constantly working on improving my weaknesses to become a better player.  I take coach feedback very well because of my strong desire to improve my game. I try many different techniques and methods that coaches have taught me in order to  improve my skills.  My strong mental toughness and positive attitude is another reason why I think I could be a good asset to a college tennis team.  I am able to keep a positive mind set in a match even when I am behind. This has made me a very tough player to play and has even helped me to win many matches.  

        My goals for college are to attend a school where I can have success as both a student and an athlete.  My personal characteristics, strong academics, and success on the court are the reason why I believe I would make a great recruit for a college tennis team.