An injury is tough for an athlete to go through, and even more so is the road to recovery.
Drew Fillis, a junior on the Bowling Green State University women’s tennis team, has dealt with just that this season.
“I had shoulder surgery so it’s taken me out all of this year,” said Fillis. “I’m coming back slowly but surely and I’m ready to get back.”
The return of Fillis will be a big boost for the team, especially in the experience department as the team is primarily built around first year players this season.
“It will be good to have someone back that can show the new girls the ropes a bit,” head coach Olga Elkin said. “It has been awesome to see in her absence other girls step up, and it will be great for next season when she does return.”
While Fillis has missed out on the competitiveness of the court, it has shown through around campus and in the classroom.
In each of her first two seasons as a Falcon, Fillis became an International Tennis Association Scholar Athlete. This has built into a leadership role on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and induction this year into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society.
“She likes to study hard,” Elkin said. “She is focused and very organized when it comes to her studies.”
The hard work in the classroom could be credited to the hardworking mentality Fillis brings to the court.
“I just try to work as hard as I can whenever I can,” Fillis said. “I’ve been playing tennis since I was seven years old, so it’s been a lot of years and a lot of hours put in working just to get to my goal of playing college tennis.”
The goal was accomplished in 2012 when Fillis committed to BGSU, and in her first season she finished with a personal record of 25-11. The team had a record of 17-5 and it was the best conference regular-season record and tournament finish in program history.
It was quite the opening year for Fillis and her
tennis dream.
“My freshman year we were a hardworking team because we all were experienced,” Fillis said. “When I came in it was four seniors, two juniors and two freshmen so we were basically an all returning team.”
While this season is a stark contrast to that 2012-13 season, Fillis boiled it down to a few simple keys.
“I think continuing to work hard on our strokes and still keeping our heads up in this down year is important,” Fillis said. “I think our inexperience has hurt us, so maybe once the girls have another year under their belts that will help them.”
As the season comes down to its final weeks and Fillis anticipates her return to the court, the sights are set high for when this Falcon returns next year.
“I would love to have a winning record and hopefully make it to MACs,” Fillis said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be my last year or not so I have to go out with a bang.”