Sophie Herrman begins Rhody career with historic performances
In her first season, Herrman reached the third round of the ITA Regionals, farther than any Ram before her. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
Rated as a four-star recruit coming out of high school, URI women’s tennis first-year Sophie Herrman has had an immediate impact on her team through their first month of the season.
Herrman came to URI ranked 85th in the country in her age group, according to head coach Val Villucci. A player with past experience in competitive match settings, the step up to collegiate competition has not phased Herrman, who Villucci says continues to play at the top of her game early on in the fall season.
“The tougher the competition became, the more she kept stepping up,” Villucci said. “She didn’t shy away from it at all. That just shows me the amount of confidence that she has, but also the amount of resiliency where she can put things behind her when they aren’t going as well.”
According to Herrman, there was no question about her choice to come to Rhode Island. Immediately falling in love with the school and the program, she said that a state school on the east coast that had a strong academic reputation was exactly what she was looking for.
“For me, Rhode Island checked every single box,” Herrman said.
Alongside her doubles partner Valentina Cvackova, Herrman recently advanced to the round of 16 in the ITA regionals, also reaching the third round in singles competition, something that had never been done before at the tournament by a Ram. She also picked up wins in both singles and doubles vs. Monmouth last week in their first match at the URI Tennis complex this season.
Herrman went on to praise the relationships she’s been able to build through her first month on the team, stating that it is a large part of the reason that she’s been able to find early success in Rhode Island.
“I’m playing some of my best tennis right now,” Herrman said. “I think for me, a big part of that is because I’m surrounded by people that I care so much about, I want to do well for the team. I’m just really happy in this environment, and I feel like when you’re happier, your results are going to be a little bit better.”
According to Villucci, Herrman’s team-first mentality has helped elevate her team this season, and is an incredibly valuable asset to have in a sport that is so often viewed as one that is individual.
“I could see she was going to be a really good team player, something that’s not always the easiest thing to teach tennis players,” Villucci said. “Growing up in it [Tennis], it’s never really a team environment, sometimes we have to spend a lot of time with some of the athletes to really learn how to think about your team first, and I could see that she was that person that got it.”
Herrman also has academic ambitions off the court. As a student currently on the pre-med track, she knows that balancing academics and athletics will soon become one of her biggest challenges.
“It’s going to be really busy with academics,” Herrman said. “But I’m also really excited for that part as well.”
It’s only been just over a month since the beginning of her first year, but Sophie Herrman has already impressed both on and off the court. A player who says she’s currently on top of her game, the first-year will look to continue to develop as she adapts to division one college competition throughout her years at URI.