Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
“I’ll always be True Blue” - Barnard Twins get one last week at home in C-USA Championships
4/20/2022 6:00:00 PM | General, Women's Tennis
The South African pair are completing their degree in Mechatronics this spring
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The late nights, now that they are done, bring more smiles and laughs from Lee and Zani Barnard than they likely did when they happened. After all, working late on a college project is a pressure-filled exercise in the moment, but usually a decent story years later.
But for the South African twins that have balanced leading the Blue Raiders on the tennis court with earning a degree in Mechatronics, one of the most academically intensive degrees offered at Middle Tennessee State, the sighs of relief when they talk about those late nights in the lab after practice, staying up sometimes so late that the they went straight to weight lifting from their academic work, still stick with them.
But the smiles the pair flash show that even amidst the stress, it's all been worth it for the power-hitting duo.
Particularly now that they're in their last semester.
"I would say this semester has calmed down a lot," Lee Barnard said "But last semester was one of our toughest ones here, and the previous one as well. We would come from the lab literally at 4 am and then go straight to weights some days. We would have 24/7 access to some of the buildings if we were working on projects.
"I think you just need to know when you have to work, time management is crucial. The more you do, the more you can do."
The Mechatronics program was a huge reason why the Barnards wanted to play for Middle Tennessee after being recruited from Midstream, South Africa, about 12 miles (or 19 kilometers) south of the capital city of Pretoria. With the program certified by ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), the pair knew that their education would have value worldwide, and set themselves up for future success in the professional world.
"I'm very interested in engineering, it wasn't a burden at all," Zani Barnard said. "For me, I want to keep working on it. And to see something working at the end was the biggest thing. We mostly have our professors that help us and the teammates that help us with our senior project. We pushed each other."
On the court, the Barnards were no-brainer picks near the top of the lineup throughout their time at MT under Coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall, who met them shortly after their freshman season when she took over the program.
"The obvious first impression to everyone is that they're power hitters," Bailey-Duvall said. "They're fun to watch, they're intense, and they have a lot of potential."
Both Lee and Zani have compiled at least 50 wins in both singles and doubles during their career, with Bailey-Duvall saying the pair worked the most on learning the nuances needed to be successful at this level. Namely, not going for a winner every single time, but learning how to hit the ball with more accuracy and put their opponents in off-balance positions. It often took time to click, Bailey-Duvall said, but when it clicked, it paid huge dividends for both players.
"They're similar but they're different," the coach said with a laugh. "It seems like Lee can be the quieter one, but she pulls a lot of the strings with those two. You really see it when they play doubles together, which is why I split them up, because the sibling kind of riff raff was causing more problems than good."
The Barnard twins also smile when one brings up doubles, with Lee quick to point on the on court benefits of having contrasting styles with their partners. Since both Lee and Zani are power hitters, they can be more effective in the team environment of collegiate tennis, where putting two power players on two different pairs can help the team win on multiple courts.
In a pre-COVID world, the Barnards would've exhausted their eligibility last season, which would've meant an extra year with no tennis for them to wrap up the five-year Mechatronics program. But with the extra year afforded by the NCAA due to the pandemic, the ability to finish the degree and continue to represent the school they love was an easy decision for both, Zani said.
"I'll always be 'True Blue,'" Zani Barnard said. "I really like MTSU a lot, I wouldn't see myself studying or playing for another university. The character of the people over here, the professors, even the community over at the Adams Tennis Center. It just feels like a home community here."
Lee highlighted the folks at the university's Office of International Affairs for being a great resource to them during their times at Murfreesboro. They've become close with Cindy Habara, who assists international students with the immigration process. Currently, she's helping the pair apply for an Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa, so they can pursue internships and jobs in the U.S. after graduation.
But going back to that sense of the community, the Barnard twins were excited to see many folks in that office at their senior day this past weekend, a tightly contested loss to UAB. Now, they'll have at least one more match on their home courts, with Middle Tennessee hosting this year's C-USA Championships at the Adams Tennis Center starting on Thursday.
"We have never had the conference championship at home, so we'll have more supporters," Zani Barnard said. "The courts we're most familiar with. We had a very tight match with FAU. Three of the matches went into super tiebreakers."
Indeed, the Blue Raiders are scheduled to face the Owls at 3 p.m. on Thursday, who they lost to 6-1 in January, but had three single matches go into super tiebreakers while playing extremely close in doubles. A renewed focus, and renewed belief, the duo said, might be the key to keeping their season alive a little longer.
"The biggest thing we've talked about this week is belief," Lee Barnard said. "Believe in yourself, keep believing you can win. The belief needs to be there this week."
Thank you to Lee and Zani Barnard for the countless memories and everything you've given to Middle Tennessee State University over the past five years 🥲💙🇿🇦#BlueRaiders | 📸: @emilycolejpg pic.twitter.com/sbFR9Vgvgi
— MT Women's Tennis (@MT_WomensTennis) April 16, 2022
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