Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee women’s tennis bonds through volunteer work during fall season
11/29/2023 10:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Senior Lilly-Sophie Schmidt smiled for the camera at the Murfreesboro Boys and Girls Club, proudly displaying a plaque for Volunteers of the Month for November. The plaque and the award were great recognition for the work that her and her teammates have done throughout the community over the past four years that she's been with the program.
The community, in turn, has shown up and give the Blue Raider women's tennis program great support at home matches and through gifts of philanthropy toward making the program better. On the court, however, it's helped this year's group get to know each other and build the relationships that will affect the product on the court this spring.
"(Volunteering) means a lot to me because it means so much to give back," Schmidt said. "We always get so much, so it's nice to be able to give back. We receive a lot of support from our school and the fans and a lot of time we can look up into the crowd and see people we've helped during our volunteer work at the matches.
It's no secret that this year's MTSU women's tennis squad will have some new faces when they take the court in January. A trio of seniors that were mainstays in the lineup in Noelle Mauro, Love-Star Alexis and Muskan Gupta graduated this past spring and left some holes that Head Coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall had to fill. The Blue Raiders did just that by not only signing Lena Peyer as an incoming freshman from Switzerland, but also dipping into the transfer portal to sign Hrudaya Shah, Cassidy Mataia and Alessia Truden.
With four new faces on a team of 10 players that includes just one senior, establishing chemistry and getting to know each other early will certainly pay dividends for a young team. While they've had the opportunity to do that with their fall schedule, Middle Tennessee has gone the extra mile to get together off the court to volunteer in the community. Whether it's been going to the food banks, the Boys and Girls Club, or hosting clinics and other outings with local players and ladies in Rutherford County, the time together helping others and working together has helped some of the newer faces get acclimated to life with their teammates and vice versa both on and off the court.
"We do a lot of other team-building activities, but when we're trying to solve problems in a community service setting, it teaches them a lot of those small things and creates opportunities to bond and grow," Bailey-Duvall said. "When you see a teammate struggling with something, getting the chance to help them and bond and grow together can go a long way. That can open up relationships that last forever."
One such player that has really benefitted from her time volunteering over the past few years is Schmidt. Her role has grown significantly each year and this season she will be looked at to fill a huge leadership role as the teams' only senior and player with three-plus years' experience within the program. Her time off the court spending time volunteering in the community has not only helped improve her confidence on the court, but it's helped her become a fan favorite. If you ever attend matches at the Adams Tennis Complex in Murfreesboro, you often see a conglomerate of fans lined up watching the native of Germany compete. She's always talking with fans and always willing to lend a helping hand.
"(Volunteering) over the past few years has definitely helped quite a bit with my leadership skills," Schmidt said. "It brings the team closer together. We organize everything by ourselves, so we have to step up and put everything together. That organizational stuff is part of leadership and learning to be an adult. It's all about getting together and executing."
While the people she's impacted through her work have had an impact on her, it's the impact that her and her teammates have had on them that's touched countless lives, whether it's been in a big way or small. Giving back to those that are in need or taking the time to teach a child how to serve a tennis ball can touch someone and brighten their day in a way that may not seem like much on the surface but means the world to them.
The most recent example is the Blue Raiders work with the Boys and Girls Club of Rutherford County. Schmidt and her teammates spent time playing outdoors and working with kids in a one-on-one setting to help them grow and learn.
"Working with younger children, they still have their whole lives ahead of them," Schmidt said. "I think it's really important to work with younger children, especially because they need the support in such an important time of their life, especially when they have tough times."
With the new addition of the Outdoor Tennis Facility on the corner of the Middle Tennessee campus nearing completion, the women's tennis team can host matches on campus once again for the first time in nearly a decade. As a result of their volunteer work in the community, their help has generated a buzz within the fanbase that will continue with the addition of the new facility. That facility will also present the chance for the team to make a bigger impact on tennis fans on campus and in the areas immediately surrounding campus.
"We plan on doing another tennis social with the local ladies on our new courts later in the season, probably around senior day," Bailey-Duvall said. "We want to continue to strengthen those bonds. We want to try and start having some junior clinics with the middle schoolers and high schoolers where we can invite them out on a match weekend and they can watch the matches. They can hit around with the girls and watch them play. We want to get both the adults and juniors involved and create those bonds with them."
Overall, the experience that the women's tennis team has gotten from their time working with the community has taught them lessons that are more important than any championship they may win. It's taught them that teamwork is essential in life, that you can always be the difference to someone personally and that no matter if it's your first year living in the United States or if you're a fan favorite, the work and time given to those in Murfreesboro and throughout Rutherford County certainly hasn't gone unnoticed.
In the season of Thanksgiving, the work that the Blue Raiders have done has created a bond not just within the team, but for the team with the community. That bond has a lot of people ready to see the new-look Blue Raiders compete in January as they look to bring some more hardware to the trophy case within the Murphy Center.
The community, in turn, has shown up and give the Blue Raider women's tennis program great support at home matches and through gifts of philanthropy toward making the program better. On the court, however, it's helped this year's group get to know each other and build the relationships that will affect the product on the court this spring.
"(Volunteering) means a lot to me because it means so much to give back," Schmidt said. "We always get so much, so it's nice to be able to give back. We receive a lot of support from our school and the fans and a lot of time we can look up into the crowd and see people we've helped during our volunteer work at the matches.
It's no secret that this year's MTSU women's tennis squad will have some new faces when they take the court in January. A trio of seniors that were mainstays in the lineup in Noelle Mauro, Love-Star Alexis and Muskan Gupta graduated this past spring and left some holes that Head Coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall had to fill. The Blue Raiders did just that by not only signing Lena Peyer as an incoming freshman from Switzerland, but also dipping into the transfer portal to sign Hrudaya Shah, Cassidy Mataia and Alessia Truden.
With four new faces on a team of 10 players that includes just one senior, establishing chemistry and getting to know each other early will certainly pay dividends for a young team. While they've had the opportunity to do that with their fall schedule, Middle Tennessee has gone the extra mile to get together off the court to volunteer in the community. Whether it's been going to the food banks, the Boys and Girls Club, or hosting clinics and other outings with local players and ladies in Rutherford County, the time together helping others and working together has helped some of the newer faces get acclimated to life with their teammates and vice versa both on and off the court.
"We do a lot of other team-building activities, but when we're trying to solve problems in a community service setting, it teaches them a lot of those small things and creates opportunities to bond and grow," Bailey-Duvall said. "When you see a teammate struggling with something, getting the chance to help them and bond and grow together can go a long way. That can open up relationships that last forever."
One such player that has really benefitted from her time volunteering over the past few years is Schmidt. Her role has grown significantly each year and this season she will be looked at to fill a huge leadership role as the teams' only senior and player with three-plus years' experience within the program. Her time off the court spending time volunteering in the community has not only helped improve her confidence on the court, but it's helped her become a fan favorite. If you ever attend matches at the Adams Tennis Complex in Murfreesboro, you often see a conglomerate of fans lined up watching the native of Germany compete. She's always talking with fans and always willing to lend a helping hand.
"(Volunteering) over the past few years has definitely helped quite a bit with my leadership skills," Schmidt said. "It brings the team closer together. We organize everything by ourselves, so we have to step up and put everything together. That organizational stuff is part of leadership and learning to be an adult. It's all about getting together and executing."
While the people she's impacted through her work have had an impact on her, it's the impact that her and her teammates have had on them that's touched countless lives, whether it's been in a big way or small. Giving back to those that are in need or taking the time to teach a child how to serve a tennis ball can touch someone and brighten their day in a way that may not seem like much on the surface but means the world to them.
The most recent example is the Blue Raiders work with the Boys and Girls Club of Rutherford County. Schmidt and her teammates spent time playing outdoors and working with kids in a one-on-one setting to help them grow and learn.
"Working with younger children, they still have their whole lives ahead of them," Schmidt said. "I think it's really important to work with younger children, especially because they need the support in such an important time of their life, especially when they have tough times."
With the new addition of the Outdoor Tennis Facility on the corner of the Middle Tennessee campus nearing completion, the women's tennis team can host matches on campus once again for the first time in nearly a decade. As a result of their volunteer work in the community, their help has generated a buzz within the fanbase that will continue with the addition of the new facility. That facility will also present the chance for the team to make a bigger impact on tennis fans on campus and in the areas immediately surrounding campus.
"We plan on doing another tennis social with the local ladies on our new courts later in the season, probably around senior day," Bailey-Duvall said. "We want to continue to strengthen those bonds. We want to try and start having some junior clinics with the middle schoolers and high schoolers where we can invite them out on a match weekend and they can watch the matches. They can hit around with the girls and watch them play. We want to get both the adults and juniors involved and create those bonds with them."
Overall, the experience that the women's tennis team has gotten from their time working with the community has taught them lessons that are more important than any championship they may win. It's taught them that teamwork is essential in life, that you can always be the difference to someone personally and that no matter if it's your first year living in the United States or if you're a fan favorite, the work and time given to those in Murfreesboro and throughout Rutherford County certainly hasn't gone unnoticed.
In the season of Thanksgiving, the work that the Blue Raiders have done has created a bond not just within the team, but for the team with the community. That bond has a lot of people ready to see the new-look Blue Raiders compete in January as they look to bring some more hardware to the trophy case within the Murphy Center.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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