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Printer-Friendly ModeDecision to play tennis has paid dividends
PLAYER PROFILE
October 5, 2009 —
Jessica Stone, Spanish and health science senior, chose to attend SVSU for academic reasons. She did not even plan on playing sports in college. “I couldn’t imagine my life without it now,” Stone said.
With a little help from her high school coach who contacted the SVSU coaching staff, Stone joined the Cardinal tennis team. SVSU has benefitted because of her decision, as Stone is now co-president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Stone also represents SVSU at the conference SAAC meetings.
“You never know what people will want to talk about,” Stone said.
The conference meetings bring student representatives from each member of the GLIAC together to discuss their SAAC operations.
“Communicating with other reps can be very hard,” Stone said. “There are a lot of e-mails sent to other reps.”
These collaborations help each university share their stories, which Stone must report back with in order to help improve the efficiency of SVSU’s SAAC operations. In order to improve efficiency and involvement, SAAC has instituted a $5 fine for teams who do not have representatives at SAAC meetings. This fine is removed from each teams budget, and although it may seem small, every dollar matters when trying to fund collegiate athletics. There has been a noticeable improvement in involvement this year said Stone.
On top of her responsibilities with SAAC, Stone has 15 credits this semester and maintains a 3.85 grade point average. Tennis demands a lot of her time. She has practice at 6 a.m. three days a week and practices from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. four days a week. In her spare time, Stone also works two days a week at Applebee’s.
Despite having so many other responsibilities, Stone understands the benefits of playing a collegiate sport.
“It has helped me make many close friends,” she said.
Spending so much time together helps the women’s tennis team build strong relationships.
Stone realizes that not many people get the opportunity to play a college sport, something she is very happy she decided to do. Even though the team is not as successful as it had hoped this year, Stone still enjoys playing.
“We have a very young team this year and we just try to improve every match,” Stone said. “I just try to help the girls get better.”
Stone will graduate in May 2010, and she plans to attend graduate school to earn a master’s in sports administration.
She hopes her time with the NCAA will not end with her graduation either.
“I would love to stay in college athletics after I graduate,” said Stone.