A Closer Look - Season 1 (Shauna Williams)
Shauna Williams’ journey to being the No. 1 player on the USC Aiken’s women’s’ tennis team wasn’t easy.
Williams’ mother is the reason she got into playing tennis.
As a child, Williams started out modeling tennis clothes as a young child. Her mother got her into the game in part because she thought Williams looked cute in the tennis outfits. She then played at the community park near where her mother worked and quickly latched onto the sport after joining a youth program called DD&J.
From there, Williams started playing tournaments at the age of seven until she was 17 years old.
She’s played other sports over the years such as basketball and track, but decided to focus on tennis in college.
“I used to be extremely shy,” Williams said. “Once my mom got me into sports, I stuck with it.”
After her parents divorced, she and her mother bonded over traveling to tournaments together, but there weren’t always good times.
“It was tough for a while growing up in a predominantly white sport,” she said. “I didn’t have a lot of friends in the tennis community.”
Williams heard nasty things from parents about other players. She’s even had some of her opponents refuse to shake her hand after the match, which is also something that she says still happens in college.
Despite this, Williams’ competitiveness combined with her mother’s encouragement led to her becoming the No. 2 tennis player in the state.
She got burnt out and took time off during her senior year. Williams went to a tennis academy to improve her game and to prove herself before returning to the court.
At USC Aiken, she is the longest-tenured student-athlete on the team, having arrived on campus in the fall of 2011.
“If I would’ve gone to another school, I wouldn’t have progressed like I did,” Williams stated. “Coach Dahm has helped me get to a level I didn’t think was possible when I was a freshman.”
Whereas other coaches may focus on winning, Williams said that Coach Dahm cares about the players. She credits him with learning her game and knowing what to tell her what to do on the court.
“He helped me calm down and knows what to tell me in order to get the best out of me,” Williams said.
Williams recalls being a very emotional player in the past. It would be obvious when she was losing because she wore her heart on her sleeve, and always dwelled on the bad during a match.
“I was getting in my own way,” she recalled. “I realized that tennis is 90 percent mental and the rest was skills.”
As a senior, she’s noticed that she has to be more vocal and encouraging to the team before matches.
“I try and get everyone to rally around each other during matches,” Williams said. “The younger players turn toward me because I’ve been in their shoes, so it’s up to me to guide them this season.”
At times, student-athletes seemed to be more focused on if they are winning instead of cheering on their teammates. Despite playing as an individual, it is still a competitive team sport.
“We have to support each other, and push each other to work harder,” Williams said. “We have to learn to play together as a team.”
Williams said that she encouraged her teammates to speak to the captain or coach if they have issues, instead of staying silent, to combat the issue.
Her hope is to play professionally one day but to also be remembered for her time spent playing at USC Aiken as well.
Throughout her time at USC Aiken, Williams will be remembered for her hard work and dedication. She has played every position possible throughout her career, having worked her way to the No. 1 spot.
Williams’ name is throughout the record book. She is currently eighth for singles wins in a career. Her partnership with Nadine Tusiama, although cut short due to an injury to Tusiama, allowed the duo to be ninth on the career chart for wins by a doubles team.
From modeling tennis clothes to etching her name in school history, Williams will definitely be remembered for a long time due to her hard work and relentless dedication.
