#D3week featured student-athlete: Madeline Saunders, women's tennis
Every year, NCAA Division III institutions across the country participate in Division III Week. To celebrate this week, we will bring you a new profile every day that gives a glimpse into the life of Chapman's student-athletes.
Feature #1: Brad Steiner, Baseball
Our week-long celebration conintues with a Q&A with Chapman tennis student-athlete Madeline Saunders. She plays at the top of Chapman's lineup but that hasn't stopped her from interning with Idaho Democratic Party, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Planned Parenthoods of Orange and San Bernardino Counties while also finding a semester to study-abroad. She plans to pursue a career in public relations or political communications.
What are some of the things you've done off the court to further your educational experience?
Being a Division III student-athlete has been an invaluable experience. I have Ibeen able to continue competing in a sport I love while also taking advantage of the other opportunities Chapman has to offer. I will be graduating from Chapman this spring with three great internships on my resume, a passport filled with stamps from my adventures studying abroad, personal connections with professors, and lifelong friends. Division III fosters a strong academic environment so I have been able to focus on my studies. For example, at the end of the month I will be going down to Vancouver, Canada, with my research partner, to the Western Political Science Conference to present our paper we wrote for our independent study with Dr. Lori Cox Han. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct research as only an undergraduate. I feel confident graduating as a student-athlete from Chapman University because Division III has afforded me the opportunity to make sure I am well rounded.
What does playing college tennis mean to you?
I love playing tennis for Chapman. Junior tennis is an individual sport so growing up I was really only playing for myself. However, when I got to Chapman I not only played for myself, but I got to play for my team and my University. It made competing more meaningful for me. I knew my teammates were trying the hardest on the courts next to me so it pushed me to compete harder as well. Whatever time I had to sacrifice to play tennis at Chapman was worth it because I wanted to help and support my team to the best of my ability.
Have the lessons you learned on the court translated to helping you achieve your academic goals or put you on the right career path?
I believe the lessons I have learned on the court will help me just as much off the court. I think the most important lesson I have learned is persistence. It can be frustrating to lose close matches or have to play a singles match right after you lost your doubles match. However, if you keep putting in the work, it will eventually pay off. At the beginning of the season I was losing a lot of matches and beginning to doubt myself, but I stuck with it and my record has improved since then. Around the same time I started applying to a lot of jobs and internships for post grad and wasn't hearing anything back. I started to panic but kept sending out applications and now I am getting responses. Hard work really does pay off!
Have you made any relationships through tennis that have changed your experience for the better at Chapman?
I have made some best friends through playing tennis at Chapman. I still keep in touch with girls from the team that have graduated and we try to meet up several times throughout the year for reunions. I came to Chapman from Boise, Idaho so I did not know anyone going into freshman year. However, after the first day of tennis practice I knew I would be okay because all the girls welcomed me in on the team and it felt like I had just joined a new supportive family. I also have good friends that play on the men's team. Both teams try to come out and support each other for matches. The Chapman tennis teams create a unique community that I am proud to be apart of!
What have been your proudest moments on and off the court?
My proudest moment off the court is when I decided to study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. I am pretty shy so I was terrified to go to a foreign country alone for a whole semester. However it ended up being the best semester I had as an undergraduate. I got to explore a new city and culture, travel to different destinations every weekend, and make a whole new group of friends from around the world. Not only did I come back more worldly, but I came back much more confident and empowered.
My proudest moment on the court would be my freshman year season. I was proud of how hard we worked to become nationally ranked and to break into the top 30. We fought through a lot of close matches to clinch wins and to become ranked. It was definitely my favorite season playing for Chapman.