A Friendly Rivalry

Tennessee team joined together after years of being opponents

By Kaitlyn Brown/USTA Southern Intern

It is very difficult to compete against your friends, but imagine having to play against your own teammates.

The women of the North Carolina Senior Women’s 4.0 team know all too well what that is like. Although they are all from the Charlotte area, many of them belong to different clubs and therefore end up playing each other often. Through this friendly rivalry came a strong team that made it all the way to the USTA League Southern Section Championship.

 “We have been playing against each other for some time, so it was only logical to start playing together,” explained Marla Figard, the acting captain of the team. Even though it is clear that joining together was a great move by these ladies, it is not easy for them. “I drive 50 miles one way to play with these ladies,” said Jan Kendrick, who is not the only one with a long commute. Several more of her teammates drive about 30 miles to be able to play with their team.

Along with dedication to each other, these women also consider themselves equal to one another.

“We have depth all the way through,” stated Marve Burns, showing that her team consists of a great group of players who do not try to compete with each other when they are on the same side of the net.

Explaining this further, Kendrick said, “We are all on the same level. It doesn’t matter who we put out on the court or who plays with who, we are all basically the same.” Although this team has an acting captain for tournaments, they actually like to share that role most of the time. “We all are the captain”, laughed Kendrick. 

So even though these ladies must compete against each other at times, they never try to out do one another and that is what makes for a successful team.