How have you grown as a person during your time at Pitt?
Blakely: Our coach always says that coming to college you change from being a girl to being a woman and that you have to make that change quickly. So I think coming into my senior year, I feel comfortable in my routines and feel prepared to be a "real person" once I graduate which is a great feeling entering my last year at Pitt. I feel like I know what I'm doing and can definitely thank our Athletic Department and Life Skills, as well as the community at Pitt, for preparing me.
Biggest accomplishment? Favorite moment?
Blakely: Since our coach came in, that was my first year as well, I got to see a rapid change in the program. The biggest moments we had are our first ACC win, and our first win over a ranked opponent. I was fortunate enough to be the first ranked player for Pitt nationally - that was an amazing moment, and then I beat that record, too. Athletically, those have been really incredible.
How have you managed to be a successful DI athlete and student?
Blakely: The biggest thing from that is accepting that you can't be perfect. Just showing up every day in all aspects of school and tennis and planning has helped. Remembering that you're not totally in control and leaning to the community around us - like the academic support staff and coaches - and knowing people are there to support you and help you has helped me succeed the most.
Do you have a favorite part about being a Pitt student-athlete?
Blakely: The sports community in Pittsburgh and within Pitt. Feeling connected with a lot of the other sports and knowing that there are a lot of other student-athletes here that care about school. The stereotype that student-athletes are just at school to play their sport is not true for most of us. Pittsburgh is a really supportive city for athletes in general, and Pitt is a great school that gives us the opportunity to pursue our passions.