Diana Young did not have the typical off-season for a college athlete. While most athletes were working hard on their game, the senior Health and Physical Education major from Federalsburg, Md., was working hard on making a decision.

Young had to decide whether she would continue playing soccer, the sport she was devoted to for her first three years at Marywood or give another sport that was close to her heart, tennis, another shot. When all was said and done, tennis was the answer.

“I fell in love with tennis the first time I picked up a racket and it is something I’ve always wanted to improve on, so I felt it was the right move for me,” said Young.

In high school, Young competed and excelled in both sports, as the tennis season was in the spring, while soccer’s was in the fall. However, at the college level, both sports are played during the fall sports season. So as an incoming freshman, Young chose to play soccer because she had more experience in the sport.

“I started playing soccer when I was just five years old so it was always a part of my life. I picked up tennis when I was a freshman in high school so I went with the one I played the longest,” Young explained.

But once Young made up her mind to give tennis another try, she immediately began practicing.

“It was hard to get back into the groove after not playing for three years, but physically I feel like I am ready to go. Now I am trying to get the mental part of the game down. When I get into a pressure situation, I sometimes feel myself getting nervous, but the more and more I play, the more comfortable I feel,” said Young.

Adding more comfort for Young in her transition are her new teammates, most no- tably Kristen Guba, Lindsey Burke, and Beth Schneider, who are also Young‘s roommates.

“Having Diana on the team has been great, we were all really excited when she joined the team and we know she will help us on the court as well”, explained Guba.

“Knowing I had a support system has definitely made it easier for me. It’s cool to have the opportunity to play with my friends,” said Young.

Although Young is excited to be playing tennis, she still finds herself missing soccer.

“I definitely miss soccer. I played it for such a long time and it will always be a part of my life. I know if I get the itch to play, I can always go play a pick-up game but right now I am completely committed to tennis,” explained Young.

While Young has worked ex- tremely hard in preparation for the season, she will have no time to even take a breath when the season comes to an end. She will jump right from the tennis court into the pool where she will swim for the Marywood swim and dive team this winter.