The strike of the serve hits the other end of the tennis court as senior Ashlie Wilson continues to compete in her match in her junior year tournament. Since she was a toddler, Wilson has had tennis in her life, and she is continuing to grow her passion. In her near future, Wilson will be a member of the womens’ Purdue tennis team. This future of following her mother’s footsteps is a lifelong goal of Wilson’s. “I chose to commit to Purdue because they have a really good tennis program, a nice facility, it’s a good distance from home and it has everything I want academically,” Wilson said. As Wilson goes into her senior year tennis season, she looks back at her past successes to bring her more excitement in the future. “One of my biggest accomplishments is making it to the finals of a duo 18s national tournament in Oklahoma with my sister and making it to the quarterfinals of the Midwest championships,” Wilson said. Wilson’s recent accomplishments have inspired her to continue her tennis career. “It is important to me because I’ve worked really hard to get this opportunity to be a part of a team and travel around the country to play,” Wilson said. “I decided to play in college because I loved the sport and wanted to follow in my mom’s footsteps.” Although Wilson has had many successes in her sport, she has had many challenges to overcome. “During COVID, it was difficult to practice because of most of the courts being closed and having restrictions of being around people, so it was extremely difficult to get good hitting in and trying to stay motivated when there weren’t many training options,” Wilson said. Wilson has planned her goals for Purdue tennis, but she also wants to gain other experiences in her life after college. “My goal for college tennis is to win the conference as a team. As of now, I am not planning to continue tennis after college because I would prefer to settle down rather than travel a lot, but this may change in the future.”