Commitment Profile
Countdown: UConn Snags Five-star Alderman
by
Ali Jones, 9 April 2013
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After winning the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association State Championship as a freshman, Emma Alderman proved that even at a tender age, she was a seasoned and formidable competitor. She faced a dilemma: Does she continue to play for Hingham High School and attempt to defend her title for the next three years? Or does she move on after having reached the pinnacle of high school tennis and forge ahead to make her mark on the national stage?
She loved tennis, the intense and focused training, and the camaraderie of her high school team. Her long-term goal, however, was to land a D-I college scholarship and she felt that for her to sustain her academic standing and train as an elite athlete, she had to give up high school tennis.
In Fall 2013, Alderman, five-star athlete and ever-so-thoughtful scholar, will begin her college career as the highest ranked recruit that University of Connecticut Director of Tennis Glenn Marshall has brought in thus far.
That sacrifice to give up high school team tennis allowed her more court time, fitness training and tournament travel. All of that has resulted in stellar tennis play, specifically at the 2011 National Hardcourts in San Diego, where she made the quarters in spite of a sprained ankle. A barrage of queries from college programs from around the country followed shortly that both surprised and delighted her.
"I really did want to get recruited to the best school that I could so the best opportunity I had to do that was playing all the USTA tournaments that I could," the senior said. "The three months of high school tennis were really awesome, but for my sophomore and junior year, I just wanted to focus on my individual game and get my ranking up as high as possible. It definitely was a hard decision. I really love the girls and I'm really good friends with a lot of them."
Coach Marshall said that he is "extremely pleased that Emma has chosen to attend UConn. She is an outstanding player who will make an immediate impact near the top of the lineup in singles and doubles."
Alderman, during an official visit to the UConn flagship campus in Storrs, summarized her experience with nothing but positive highlights.
