It’s a lovely sunny day and the early morning breeze blows Kara Antonio’s hair as she looks up the trail ahead of her. It has been a hard hike, but as the old saying goes, “it’s not the destination, but the climb.” She wipes a sheen of sweat off her forehead and finishes her hike with the ease that comes naturally to athletes. Once she reaches her car, she feels a certain victory in finishing her hike, because there is just something about being outdoors that’s thrilling to her. 

Antonio has been on the Texas Wesleyan Tennis Team for two years, alongside her teammate Mae Vidalle and her coaches Angel Martinez and assistant coach Steve Foster. She is a sophomore who is majoring in Computer Science.  

“Kara is the type of teammate that always supports you to keep fighting, and she’s always happy and trying to make you laugh. She’s that person that always has a smile on her face, and honestly, sometimes is really necessary to have that type of positive energy. As a friend, she’s the cutest. She’s close and will be there if you need her. She’s funny, honest and chatty,” said Vidalle. 

In her spare time when she is not in class or practicing for tennis, she loves spending time outside in the fresh air, hiking and going to the beach. She also enjoys online shopping, content creating, traveling and taking pictures. She is excited about when travel is allowed again because she misses going and seeing new places. 

 “I feel like we’re all in the midst of chaos right now and all you can do is adapt to these situations and make the best of everything you’ve got because that’s all we can do right now,” said Antonio. 

She has played tennis since she was 7 years old, and she fell in love with the sport. While she does not plan on playing tennis professionally when she is done with college, she does plan on playing personally because she enjoys the game. She loves all of her achievements that she has gotten so far in tennis. 

“Kara Is one of the most positive members of our team. She is hard-working and always gives us her best effort. When she came in as a freshmen, we gave her a huge task to play at the number one double spot, and she did an amazing job there. She did such a great job that she is still playing there! I could not ask for more of a player. She gives us everything in practice and everything she has during her matches. She is a joy to coach,” said Martinez. 

Luckily for her team, tennis is relatively unaffected by COVID-19 because the sport is already social distanced whether they are playing singles or doubles. The crowd is allowed to be there in person due to the game being outside. However, they are required to social distance and wear a mask. 

“Kara came to TXWES tennis from a very supporting family both academically, as well as athletically. Kara works cooperatively with her teammates and coaching staff, aiming at a conference championship and a shot at the national tournament. We are proud to have her as a Lady Ram,” said Foster.