Senior tennis player Skylar Kuykendall has always been good at her craft.
And now, she strives for a sensational finish to her collegiate career at LSU.
The first three years of her collegiate career were a celebration of awards and big wins, but
the Jasper, Alabama, native had already made a name for herself in high school, winning five games against four and five-star opponents, earning a No. 53 national ranking.
Kuykendall continued her success at the University of Memphis, being named extra space the 2013 Conference USA Freshman of the Year and earning a spot on the Conference USA Third Team Singles.
After transferring to LSU for her junior year, she finished the season 24-6 and received a spot on the 2015 All-SEC Second Team and the 2015 All-Louisiana First Team.
Now, she looks to finish her career at LSU in the best way possible.
She said LSU’s new tennis facility and the full-time signing of co-head coach Michael Sell are great circumstances for an even better season this year. Everything seems to be going her way from a health standpoint.
“I feel pretty good,” Kuykendall said. “We’ve been working on fitness a lot and getting used to the climate again. At this rate, things are looking really good.”
Kuykendall has distinguished herself this preseason with her hard work and mentality both on and off the court. She stayed on campus over the summer, taking classes to lighter the load for her senior year. When she wasn’t doing school work, she said she was always on the court.
“She did a really good job this summer knocking down some really difficult classes,” said LSU co-head coach Julia Sell. “She wanted to make her senior year flow academically. She’s one of those kids who always takes care of business, does the work and whatever it takes to help and improve the team.”
Kuykendall doesn’t only face high expectations on the court during her senior year. She has assumed a much larger leadership role. Settling in as an LSU athlete and knowing the team and program, the coaching staff sees her in a more mature and comfortable position to lead.
“She’s a heck of a competitor, and people feed off her,” Michael said. “Her continuing to lead with her competitiveness and practice mentality will contribute to the team in a big way.”
“We hope that some of her great qualities filter down to the rest of our team and that she passes on her desire, will to prepare and that never-give-up mentality,” Julia added.
Although she doesn’t feel pressured to finish strong, the reigning Louisiana Newcomer of the Year said she wants to make the most out of her senior season and has set high expectations for both herself and the team.
“We had a really good season last year, and I think there were a lot of close matches where few points made the difference,” Kuykendall said. “I feel we learned from those, so we have high expectations. We always want to do better than the year before, but I think we are actually capable of doing so this upcoming season.”
Her personal goal is to make it into the NCAA singles and go further into the NCAA Tournament as a team, after losing to Texas Tech in the second round last season.