Club tennis is up and running for its second full consecutive year since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. This would not have been possible without Mary Wilson Reyner ‘26. She worked diligently to bring back club tennis the interim of her freshman year.
In order to get the ball rolling, Reynor went to the office of student engagement and expressed her desire to resurrect club tennis.
“I was looking for something that was more competitive than just the intramural club and more resembled a high school athletic experience in terms of competing against other colleges,” Reyner said.
She then filled out the proper paperwork in order to activate her club and register through the Involve app. Reyner shared the biggest challenge she faced was starting a club when there wasn’t a club fair.
The interest fair, hosted in the fall every year, provides great publicity for organizations on campus and promotes student engagement. Without this advantage because of the timing, she started off with a small group of friends and whoever she could reach by word of mouth.
She eventually decided to post announcements to the daily announcements, but the fall of her sophomore year is when the club gained its footing. The team gained a significant number of members after having been able to finally attend the interest fair in 2023.
At this time, Reyner began to reach out to other teams and schedule matches once the club had more members. Another way she raised engagement was through organizing clinics hosted by Rod Ray, Wofford’s varsity tennis coach.
The first ever club event in the fall of 2023 was a scrimmage against Furman. With great excitement, Reyner shared that they had won. With a win under their belt, the team began traveling even further to play USC and all of the way to Birmingham, AL..
With astounding growth in just one year club tennis was presented with the Outstanding Member Engagement Club of the Year award at the end of 2023.
A contributing factor to winning this award was the creation of the club tennis Executive Council which consisted of a Vice President, a Director of Events and Programming and a Director of Marketing and Media.
This allowed Reyner to delegate the responsibilities of the club and ensure longevity past her time at Wofford. Another step in making sure the club would last was finding financial backing.
Reynor went through Campus Union and received funds for the club. She also applied and won a grant from the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and secured alumni funding.
A new addition to the leadership team this year is Sarah Stahl ‘27. Stahl is the Director of Programming and Events. In this role, she plans practices every week and coordinates matches with other schools.
Stahl can attribute to Reynwr’s dedication to the team and the joy she has while leading it.
“I admire Mary Wilson for many reasons. Every day at practice she has a smiling face. If we have four people or ten at practice, she is excited no matter what,” Stahl said.
Stahl shared that she is inspired by Reynor because she sees good in everyone and seeks the best qualities in people when looking to build her leadership team.
Like Reyner, Stahl also feels that fostering a good team environment is vital in instilling members’ continued engagement. She is excited to be able to contribute in new ways with her leadership position to this welcoming atmosphere for any student that wants to participate.
Stahl is excited for their upcoming tournament at USC and for the freshman to experience it for the first time. Reynor is most looking forward to her team comradery this semester.
“This is the first year that we have had consistent players across all ages and seeing them bond and play together despite the differences in age is something special and unique to our team,” Reyner said.
Her team’s comradery goes well beyond the courts. With weekly meals and active group chats, the team is only growing closer. Club tennis is flourishing, and Reyner is finally able to see the fruits of her labor.
