Liudmila Vasilieva
Tennis Player Profile
By: Zack Menchel
While the final chapter of her impressive collegiate tennis career
nears its conclusion, WSU senior Liudmila Vasilieva still has a lot to play
for.
Vasilieva, affectionately known as “Luda” to her teammates
and coaches sits just six singles wins behind WSU’s all-time wins leader
Elisabeth Fournier with 102 career victories.
Last week against Montana, Vasilieva earned her 100th
career singles victory and became just the second WSU tennis player to reach
the century milestone.
She followed up with singles wins against Nevada and Portland
State.
Vasilieva attributed her success to
never giving up on the court, no matter the odds.
“I’m a fighter, it’s just my
nature,” she said.
“There is no game like tennis where
you can come back from unbelievable deficits only because of your fight.”
She also cited that constantly
setting the bar higher for herself as well as expecting and preparing for
success has led to the positive results she has enjoyed both on the court and
in the classroom.
Vasilieva said that the chance to make sports history at WSU
would be a privilege but she will continue to root for future Cougar tennis
players in their own endeavors.
“I’m really looking forward to
beating this record but I expect WSU tennis to continue to improve every year,”
she said.
“If somebody were to beat my record some day I’ll be just as happy knowing that the program has become even better.”
Despite acknowledging that the record is indeed lingering on
her mind, Vasilieva said team accomplishments such as WSU’s trip to the NCAA
Championships last season are much more meaningful to her and always come
before individual accolades.
“It was a great experience to go to
the tournament as a team,” Vasilieva said.
“I was so proud of my teammates and
to be a part of that winning environment. Those are the memories that will
always stay with me.”
Vasilieva came to Pullman from
Yekaterinburg, Russia where she first picked up a tennis racket at around 7 or
8 years old after tagging along with her father and a friend of his.
Making the transition from a big
city populated with over one million people to a small college town was a bit
of a shock for her at first but a focus on her studies and tennis career helped
to ease her through the process of the move.
“It didn’t make much of a difference because
at the end of the day I don’t have time for all the features big cities offer,”
said Vasilieva.
When she’s not busy mastering her
serve, Vasilieva enjoys reading. She wishes she could find more time for
fencing club, a sport she took up last semester.
Vasilieva said she was not
contacted by many college coaches and received very few scholarship offers to
play in the United States.
In fact, she nearly attended a
different school altogether until current WSU head coach Lisa Hart personally
called her on the phone to explain to her the benefits of Pac-12 athletics.
“She made me realize that this was
the place where I truly belonged,” Vasilieva said.
“I knew I wanted to play Pac-12 tennis and be a
part of the family environment where everyone supported each other here.”
Reminiscing on her four years in Pullman,
Vasilieva said that she has enjoyed her time at WSU and does not for a minute
regret her decision to play tennis for the university.
“I definitely think Pullman is the
perfect place to develop as a student and tennis player,” Vasilieva said.
“It has been a great place for me
to learn and grow.”
Although Vasililieva found a second
home in Pullman, she said she misses her friends, family, and even the food
back in Russia.
“I was surprised that American food
is so unhealthy,” she said.
When Vasilieva doesn’t have the
time to cook for herself she reluctantly resorts to the CUB’s offerings for
lunch.
“The healthiest thing in the CUB is
Subway and I just cannot eat that every day, that’s for sure,” she said.
“For me, a sandwich is not a lunch because
in Russia we have good dishes like potatoes with fish and soup and things that are
healthy for you.”
Vasilieva and the Cougar tennis
team are optimistic about their chances to return to the NCAA tournament this
year and go even further than last season’s finish in the final 32 teams.
“It would be an honor for me as a
senior to go back to the tournament and experience it all again with my
teammates,” she said.
“I feel very confident in all my
teammates and I know they’ll fight to the end with me and be the best that they
can be.”
After graduating in May, Vasilieva
says she hopes to train at a tennis academy in pursuit of a professional
playing career.
“I would play tennis 24 hours a day
if I could but for now I must also study,” Vasilieva said.
“When you love something like I
love tennis, you don’t need an inspiration to get out and play because I know I
will have so much fun doing it.”
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