College Commitment Countdown: Smyth to the 'Cats by
Ali Jones, 6 November 2009
Blue Chip Lacey Smyth had numerous suitors vying for her commitment: Colorado, Pepperdine, San Diego and Washington. Ultimately, her heart went to Arizona.
"I chose Arizona [because of its] supportive coaching staff, the cohesiveness of the team, and the career opportunities available at the University," the third-ranked Californian said.
"The coaches have been on my side since the day they started recruiting me and I know that they will do the same when I am actually playing there," Lacey said. "There are no excuses for me not to improve under their guidance and support. I loved the campus, and I can definitely see myself fit in there."
She plans to major in psychology and learn skills that will help her after college.
"I want to be a college coach," she said. While she is a competitive person who loves the demands of a solitary sport such as tennis, she also loves belonging to a team. As a coach, she reasoned, she'd be able to shape, inspire and influence a group, something she's already been able to do at San Marcos High School.
When Lacey was a freshman, Coach Paul Hartman described her to the North County Times: "She takes a lot on her own shoulders and she never hesitates to give 100 percent. The girls (on the team) do look up to her because she's obviously given a lot of her young life to becoming as good as she can possibly become. She's a quiet leader."
Having seen her as a team member for the past three years, Hartman still holds his past assessment of Lacey to be accurate.
"She works harder than any player that I have seen in 15 years of coaching and she brings her solid work ethic to each match that she plays and her teammates have recognized her extraordinary willingness to work harder and to go the extra mile to improve her game," he said.
"Her strengths as an individual include her wonderful competitiveness," he said. "She battles for every point and she plays each point to the best of her ability. She absolutely refuses to give up or to give in at any stage of the match. As a teammate, she is very supportive of all of her teammates and she encourages them before, during and after the matches. She is very approachable and very willing to share her knowledge and understanding of the game with each of her teammates and this has made a huge difference."
Lacey's tennis and academic success - she's ranked 16th on TennisRecruiting.net's senior class - has been chronicled by the local San Diego papers for years and with good reason. She's a member of the National Honor Society and was on the Union-Tribune All-Academic First Team.
She's been named Most Valuable Player for her high school for the past three years. In 2009 she's gone deep in the draws of three National Opens: She won the consolation finals of the July Lakewood Open, was finalist in the May Lakewood Open (where she lost to Krista Hardebeck in three sets), and placed third at the February Waco Open.
At the Berkeley National Championships she went 5-2, losing to Kristie Ahn and Jacqueline Cako. Her overall record for the year is 53-18.
Smyth was impressed by the
Arizona coaches
© Doug Wrege, TennisRecruiting.net
In the 16s division, Lacey won two National Open tournaments. She also has a number of trophies from the 14s and 12s.
Lacey describes herself as an aggressive all-courter, with her forehand as the weapon of choice. She's stands just over five feet, but that doesn't discourage her net attack.
"I like coming to the net, moving forward," she said. She realized early on that size doesn't really matter for her.
She's pretty quick on her feet and is able to run down a lot of balls, making sure not many get past her.
But her greatest strength is one that all successful players boast: mental.
In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2007, Lacey hinted at this: "Always keep a positive mind. Never backtrack." This holds true for her today.
In her quest to become a better tennis player, Lacey wants to make her game more complete by expanding her repertoire of shots.
She works with former touring pro Woody Blocher at the Rancho Arbolitos Tennis Club in Poway and models her game after Belgian sensations Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.
She likes Clijsters for her intensity and demeanor and Henin for the variety in her game.
She will be a welcome addition to the Wildcats as Coach Vicky Maes, who also is coincidentally Belgian. Maes, on her eighth season as head coach, is said to be one of the greatest players in Arizona's women's tennis.
Under Coach Maes, Arizona won the 2003 Pac-10 Championships.
Despite injuries that plagued the team this past season, Coach Maes is optimistic about her girls. She considers them "the most cohesive and hardworking group I have ever coached. Our goal is to make a move back into the rankings and put Arizona on the map again. The freshmen are extremely driven and have earned the respect of everyone already. What they are doing is not only building and improving themselves, they are also leading the way for future Wildcats, both on and off the court."
"As a member of the team, I expect to blend in well with the other girls and as a player, hopefully help the team beat the top schools in the country," Lacey said. "I always wanted to play in the
Pac-10 and playing for Arizona will give me that chance. I am very excited about going there next year and I can go on and on about all the reasons I found Arizona to be the place for me."
Next Up: Signing Week!
This Smyth article concludes our Countdown to Signing Day series. You can review all the great articles in the Countdown by clicking here.
But we are not done - we are far from done. Next week is the big week - Signing Week! Come by all week for special features!
