A Closer Look - Season 2 (Kayla Calvert)
After one full year of being on the USC Aiken dance team as well as playing college tennis, we returned to check in on the dynamic sensation, Kayla Calvert.
As a freshman Calvert became the only student-athlete in Pacer history to be a member of the dance team while playing a sport for the University.
One year later, Calvert has exceeded all expectations by winning a Peach Belt Championship with her dance team as well as now becoming the number three player for women’s tennis.
According to a study done by the NCAA, on average women’s athletes spend an average of 33.3 hours per week training for their particular sport. The USC Aiken Dance team tallies around 10-12 hours per week and an average college student will study for approximately 17 hours per week.
“Dancing really helps me be physically fit for tennis. I am able to stretch a lot and I think that really contributes to me remaining healthy all season,” said Calvert.
Despite all of the things on her to-do list, Calvert makes it a priority to wake up at 6 a.m. two days of the week in order to do 30 minutes of cardio prior to fueling up with a big breakfast from the SAC.
Adding up the hours, this would mean that Calvert personally invests nearly 62 hours per week into all of her activities. Nearly three full days of her time is spent constantly juggling practices and studying for nursing tests while attempting to get enough rest to repeat this process daily.
Calvert finished the 2015 tennis season second on the team with 11 singles wins while adding seven doubles victories for the Pacers. Calvert and the USC Aiken dance team earned the Peach Belt Conference Championship and the CANAM Championship during the spring portion of their season. She also made the Peach Belt Honor Roll Silver Scholars list. This indicates that Calvert maintained a GPA of 3.50 to 3.74 throughout her freshman year.
In the few hours that Calvert gets to herself, she typically hangs out with her two roommates whom are student-athletes on the volleyball team and tries to spend as much time with her family as possible.
Calvert is especially attentive to her three-year-old niece, Emma, who has become a common face to Pacer fans in attendance at the home basketball games.
“I have always been really family oriented and really owe my success to them. They are a constant support system in all that I am doing,” said Calvert.
Calvert has begun the 2016 tennis season as the No. 3 player in the line up. She currently holds a 6-3 record overall and is 2-1 against Peach Belt league foes.
“Playing as a higher seed than last year I feel like I have big shoes to fill and that makes me nervous some matches. Fortunately, the more matches I play, the more confidence I gain mentally,” stated Calvert.
After her freshman year, Calvert’s positive school GPA allowed her to be accepted in the nursing school at USC Aiken. Calvert noted that while the average student may study 17 hours, she would probably have to add five or six hours to that to tally her total per week.
“This year is actually more hectic because I am further in my nursing degree and that requires a lot more time than my freshman year classes. I just keep a schedule and I stick with it,” said Calvert.
Calvert aims to keep excelling on the tennis court and gain confidence as the season goes on.
As far as dance goes Calvert believes that the Pacer Dance team can repeat a title.
“I think we have a really good chance at repeating. We’ve run our routine a lot and we just have to perform like we know we can,” said Calvert.
Calvert and the USC Aiken tennis team will travel to Flagler this Friday to play a match at 3:00. Immediately following this match, Calvert will travel to Columbus State to compete with her dance team in the PBC Championship on Saturday at 9 a.m.
