Athlete Spotlight: Ashley Pierson

Carly Besser
Staff writer

 

Murray State senior Ashley Pierson has been part of the women’s tennis team since the fall of 2007. In her freshman year alone, she earned a 10-6 singles record against schools such as Western Kentucky and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Pierson has an overall singles record of 20-14 and an overall doubles record of 9-12.

Her tennis career started when she was 12 years old.

“I come from Georgia, and tennis is a really popular sport there,” she said. “I started pretty young and just stuck with it ever since.”

Pierson said tennis is something she’s very passionate about and enjoys the bond it can offer.

“I really enjoy my teammates and the togetherness from being on the team,” she said. “But I also really like being able to compete alone and get my own scores.”

In the term “student-athlete,” being on a sports team is only half the job. Pierson said she enjoys school and is currently working toward her degree in biology.

“I want to teach high school students,” she said.

Pierson also has a minor in health and physical education and she plans to coach tennis in the future, she said.

Being an athlete takes hours of dedication from going to matches and long practices. If she was not playing tennis, Pierson said she would most likely have a job or be playing soccer.

“It probably wouldn’t be as fun,” she said. “But I would have more money.”

Besides tennis, Pierson enjoys running and considers it a hobby.

“It’s good because I like to do it and it keeps me in shape,” she said. “I ran my first marathon last summer and I really enjoyed it.”

Before tennis matches, Pierson gets pumped up by listening to music on her iPod, she said.

“I have a lot of different music,” she said. “Anything from Bon Iver to Needtobreathe and everything in between.”

Pierson said she enjoys being a Murray State Racer and appreciates the relationships she has made through collegiate tennis. She is most proud of being able to do what she loves at a collegiate level.

“The athletic department has a huge amount of support,” she said. “And I love my teammates to death. They’re the greatest.”

Contact Besser.

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