Alaska isn’t necessarily known for producing top-notch college tennis talent, but Whitney Williams of Anchorage is changing that perception.
The freshman at Abilene Christian University won a women’s doubles title at the University of Oklahoma Fall Invitational. This was just her second college event.
Williams teamed with Carli Knezevich to go 3-0 in the Switzer Draw, beating fellow NCAA D1 doubles teams from Kansas, Denver and Kansas State.
“These girls are tough,” Williams told me. “Mentally and physically they are on a completely different level than junior tennis.”
The former Alaska state champion also competed in singles and placed fifth in her draw with a 3-2 mark.
“I felt amazing the first two days and on the third day I got cold,” she said. “But the entire tournament I played some pretty high level tennis, so that made me happy.”
Williams, of South High fame, went the distance of three sets in three different matches, winning two of them.
“It took me a full set in all of my singles matches to really get warmed up,” she said. “Then I played my best.”
A week earlier, Williams made a dynamic debut for Abilene Christian by advancing to the finals in singles and doubles at the Walmart Open in Texas.