This past weekend, I played my final regular season tennis match at Marks Stadium. 

We played Maryland — a full circle moment in itself since it’s my home state. I could not have asked for a better day. It felt like the perfect way to conclude my experience on a collegiate women’s athletic team. 

I’ve found it hard to wrap my head around the fact that this chapter of my life is closing, but that day made the experience extremely bittersweet. As I walked into our team room, my teammates and I had decorated our lockers, hanging pictures throughout of memories over the years. I couldn’t help but smile at all the faces of teammates that had come and gone throughout the years. The bond I share with many of them remains unwavering.

Prior to college, I had difficulty seeing tennis as more than an individual sport. Junior tennis had been just that: mine. Every win or loss, every bad practice and decision, fell solely on my shoulders. Like most junior tennis players, I did not have the experience of being in a team environment. 

That was until I arrived at USC.  

I’ll never forget my first few practices as a freshman. The seniors at the time told us that if someone cheers for you, you cheer back. I thought it sounded plain and simple enough at the time. However, as a freshman still adjusting to the complexities of life as a student-athlete, I didn’t fully understand why this small gesture was such a significant cornerstone of our team’s pillars and culture, or the constant intentionality that living it out would require.

Initially, all the cheering and team bonding actually felt a bit awkward and quite unnatural. And other things were already challenging. I was struggling to adjust to the intensity of life as a collegiate student-athlete, and it felt like expended energy yelling for and supporting those around me constantly. Why did it matter if I cheered back?

Then came my first rivalry match against UCLA. I’ll never forget the nerves I felt as I walked onto the court. I dropped the first set in a mere 20 minutes, getting killed 6-1. It wasn’t until I began cheering for my teammates who were playing on adjacent courts that I was able to calm down and get my energy up. 

The momentum I gained in my match couldn’t just come from me, it had to come from all of us. I felt like I found something within me that day. A lesson I would carry with me for the entirety of my college experience: what it means to be on a team. 

This simple idea of cheering for those who cheer back for you has become a foundation in my life — literally and figuratively. In fact, it’s so ingrained that I’ll catch myself watching completely unrelated sporting events and genuinely have to restrain myself from yelling, “Let’s go SC!”

Since that rollercoaster of a match, one controllable I know I can count on in any situation is leaning on those around me and absorbing motivation from them. You are bound to face adversity in tennis — or any sport, really — but being on a women’s athletic team has given me an immense sense of comfort and pride. The sheer fact that you can always count on teammates to help get you through the toughest times means everything. 

This feeling has been the heartbeat of my college tennis experience. Overall, I am filled with gratitude, and I would like to think I am living proof of how impactful sports can be in helping an individual grow as a person. Being part of a team, especially a women’s athletic program, has taught me the importance of a strong community and support in helping me grow in so many ways. I have had a similar sense of belonging as a part of the Daily Trojan. The incredible talent and dedication amongst the staff has consistently inspired and challenged me to grow. 

My journey at USC is coming to a close, and in hand, so is this column. What started as a way for me to share my love for women’s sports has become something much more personal and impactful in my life. I hope, in some way, I was able to give back even a sliver of what women’s athletics and the team experience has given me, which is more than I could have ever imagined. 

Sloane Morra is a senior giving her opinions and perspectives on current issues in women’s sports through her column “Second Serve,” which runs every other Friday.