The 2022 Rams Reflect is the seventh in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Ilda Ascic, Women's Tennis | Hometown: Sarajevo, Bosnia | Major: Corporate Finance
Tennis has always been a big part of my life. I have been playing tennis since I was five years old. It opened so many doors for me and connected me to people around the world, but I never knew the true significance that tennis would play in my life until I came to Suffolk and got to play Division III tennis.
Coming in freshman year I really did not know what to expect. Since tennis is a very individual sport, I did not know what it would look like to play tennis as a team. I remember playing my first match and suddenly I had people other than my parents cheering me on and a crowd of people commenting and watching my every point. I remember this was very overwhelming at first, but thankfully during my first match I had my doubles partner Delaney Dunlap, a senior at the time, on the court with me to guide me through it. I remember her telling me how she felt the same when she was in my position. She told me how the way to get through it is just to focus on yourself and the next point ahead, and nothing else. This advice really helped me focus and get back into the game. This was just one of the many situations where I knew my team had my back on court though thick and thin. The captains at the time, Delaney, and Elena Cisneros Garcia, picked Kendall Smith and I to be the next captains and showed us the kind of leadership that was expected from us going forward.
Growing up I didn’t get to play a lot of doubles and I when I started playing college tennis it was all about the doubles. Playing doubles has thought me a lot about playing in a team and communicating. Over the course of my four years, I have played with four different partners, and it helped me learn more about myself, but also how to adjust to different playing styles of my partners. This is where communication comes into play, if you don’t communicate with your partner and if you do not play as a team then you will not get the outcome you are hoping for. You must adjust and compromise and be flexible but also do your best and play your game, just like in life.
Being a captain these last three years and being a Ram has been a huge privilege and a lot of fun. It helped me improve my leadership and team building skills and make lifelong friendships in the process.
Lastly, I want to thank coach Steve Counihan for being patient with me and being there for me on my worst and best days. He believed in me and the team when we sometimes we did not even believe in ourselves, and I will never forget that. I also want to thank the athletic staff for supporting the team and making a great community to be a part of.
For the Future Rams: You have an amazing opportunity to play a sport that you like and be a part of an incredible community. Make the most out of your opportunities and cherish the journey you are on and the people you are on it with.