Haverford, Pa. – On March 10, Haverford College women's tennis will conduct a tennis clinic, commemorating World Tennis Day, during a physical education class at Orlando's Rock Lake Elementary School. USTA Florida and Hebni Nutrition Consultants are providing support.
"I'm really looking forward to returning to Florida for spring break this year," said Jessica Liu. "Last year we had a really successful campaign, going undefeated during spring break for the first time in program history, and I believe a lot of our success during the season came from the confidence we had built during spring break. Hopefully, we can look to do the same this year."
The Fords, led by the Professional Tennis Registry's Jim Verdieck College Coach of the Year, Ann Koger, are excited to start the spring season and participate in a service learning project using tennis.
"I have always liked to play and test my athletic skills, formally and informally," Koger said speaking on how she got into coaching. "Then, the opportunity to coach came along when I was 18 and I have enjoyed using my skills to help others learn."
Haverford's spring season starts during its annual week-long spring break trip, March 6-11. The Fords' first match is scheduled against Alvernia University. Other opponents during the week include Columbia College, Coe, Methodist and Northwestern College of Orange City, Iowa.
Under Coach Koger's leadership, the women's tennis team at Haverford has an all-time record of 351-225. A Morgan State University graduate, Koger has coached three conference singles champions, two conference doubles champions, and a host of players with conference, regional and national rankings.
The inspiration behind the team building, service learning engagement is to commemorate the following campaigns: World Tennis Day (March 8), International Women's Day (March 8), National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10), National Nutrition Month, Social Workers Month and National Women's History Month.
"The upcoming week is really about melding ourselves together into a cohesive group," said Liu. "I am really looking forward to working and volunteering with the fifth graders of Rock Lake Elementary School. I hope that showing our passion for the sport of tennis can one day impact some of kids we work with."
Sophomore and team leader, Greta Koch, echoed Liu's sentiments. "Teaching the fifth graders at Rock Lake Elementary, I'm so excited!"
Haverford has made the Centennial Conference Tournament during each of the last seven seasons. During the spring of 2014, the Fords advanced to their first ever Centennial Conference Tournament championship match with a 5-3 win against Franklin & Marshall in the semifinals. In 2015, Haverford continued its rise by winning 15 matches in a season for the first time since 1999.
Operating within Orange County Public Schools, Rock Lake Elementary School serves close to 300 students from Pre-K to 5th grade. USTA Florida, a non-for-profit, volunteer-led organization, serves more than 40,000 individuals and nearly 1,000 organization members throughout the state of Florida. Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Incorporated is a USTA Florida partner and community-based, not-for-profit service provider formed in 1995 to educate high-risk, culturally diverse populations about nutrition strategies to prevent diet-related diseases.