Junior Grace Williams went skydiving during her study abroad in France.
Grace Williams knew she wanted to play tennis in college but also wanted to attend a small school.
Centre College checked both those boxes for her as well as offering Greek life (sorority) and studying abroad, two more huge pluses for Centre in her opinion. However, there was one intangible that also played a big role in bringing her from Signal Mountain, Tenn., to Danville for college.
“When I came and visited, I just really fell in love with the (tennis) team, and it was just fun. Everyone seemed like they’re so happy, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Williams, a junior, said. “Anywhere you go you see friends. That just makes it fun to be here.”
Her only connections to Centre were that her step-grandfather played basketball at Centre and her older brother considered Centre before picking another school. However, she quickly made connections with tennis teammates Carlie Mitchell, Sophie Maddux, Skylar Keesee, and Kayla Harger.
“We all came in together and now they are six of us because Kennedy Herring transferred in after our freshmen year. We are just really close and have a lot of fun and spend a lot of time together,” Williams said. “We just kind of clicked from the start. It felt like we had always been friends.”
Mitchell is from Nashville and they played against each other when they were younger. Now they are roommates and doubles partners. She had “no clue” about the others until arriving on campus.
Williams reached the Tennessee High School State Championships three times. In 2018 her team won the state title and she was on the state champion doubles team. The next year the team was second in the state and she was also second in doubles. She finished her high school career as a state singles semifinalist.
Mitchell and Williams are clicking this season with a 9-1 mark in doubles. Williams is also 9-4 in singles with a 5-4 record playing No. 1 singles.
“Carlie and I didn’t play together last year, but this year we have just really clicked,” Williams said. “We have just kind of figured it out and it has been fun. We’re roommates and that helps us mesh as teammates on the court. We are team co-captains. She’s more on top of things and I am more relaxed and just go with the flow. That works out well on the court and as roommates for us.
“Freshman year we played together some but it seemed a lot more stressful. This year has been so much more fun,” Williams said.
She took the fall season off for the first time while she was studying abroad in Strasbourg, France. She took her tennis racket with her intending to play/practice while she was overseas but she never had the chance.
“I had other friends who studied there and it is one of the popular programs at Centre,” she said. “I liked the idea of going to France where I could travel and it was amazing.”
She visited Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy and the Netherlands. She didn’t have classes on Friday and that made it easy to travel with other Centre students on weekends.
“I sort of felt rejuvenated when we got back. I went with a great group but I was ready to be back with my friends. I was excited to play tennis because I hadn’t played in three months. I was fired up to get back into it,” the Centre junior said. “I had time to get back adjusted before we started playing matches.”
She started playing tennis at age 4. Her father played college tennis. Everyone else in her family also played so it was only natural for her to also play. She did play high school volleyball.
“Playing volleyball probably took away a bit from my tennis and I would probably be better now if I had just focused on tennis,” she said. “Throughout middle school I played all kinds of sports but tennis is the one that stuck.”
Williams, a behavioral neuroscience major, hopes to become an occupational therapist working either in pediatrics or schools.
“I had an idea that’s what I wanted to do when I came here. I kind of thought about finance. I kind of played around with classes my freshman year and then decided what direction I wanted to go,” she said.
Williams definitely likes the direction the tennis program is going with coach Morgan Cook. Centre will have a large incoming freshman class next year to offset the six seniors who will be playing their final season.
“It would be unfortunate once we all left if there was no one to carry on,” she said. “Carlie and I are captains but we couldn’t do what we do without the help from the other juniors. Their roles are really important, especially for team morale. We want to see this program keep going forward and really believe we are laying a good foundation for that.”
