University of Minnesota Athletics
First Serve With Tina Kreinis
11/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Minneapolis, Minn. - Tina Kreinis has posted five singles match victories and seven doubles match wins this fall for the Gophers.
The Toronto, Ont. Native is one of the four freshman on the team this year. Kreinis was a U16 Provincial singles finalist, doubles Champion in 2013 and won another doubles championship in U18.
GopherSports.com sat down with freshman to see how her first season at Minnesota is going.
GopherSports.com: What made you decide to come to the University of Minnesota?
Tina Kreinis: I am into medicine and I really liked the fact that we have the Mayo Clinic. It is just a world renowned university for studying medicine and it was really important for me to have a good place for me to train. I liked that it is a Big Ten school and we are going to be playing strong schools, plus the team itself is really good at tennis. That was a big factor for me, I knew I would be getting good academics and on top of that I would be getting the training that I need in my sport.
GS: How do you prepare for each tournament/match as a team and individually?
TK: In terms of team preparation, we kind of dilate down more into match play in practice. So we will do a lot of single and double matches instead of working on specific things, which is usually what we do when we are not playing in tournaments. When it comes to fitness, we just roll out, do some stretching and a bit of weights. Individually, I like to make sure to get a lot of sleep and make sure I am eating well just a couple of days before. I am really focusing on how to play in practice the way I would play in the match, so I am always trying to keep my attitude in check just a couple of days before practice and making sure I am playing the way I would play in a match.
GS: Being a freshman, do you ask the upperclassmen for advice on how to succeed as a player as well as academically?
TK: I definitely ask a lot of questions in terms of academics. I will ask about how I should study for certain classes, how it works when we travel and how we study in that sense. In terms of tennis, I ask a lot of questions to my partner Annemarie (Emme), she's a sophomore, but we are partners. She gives me a lot of advice because she is a great doubles player, so if I am not sure where to go, what kind of shot to hit or what I should do during a specific point, I will ask her and she will always help me out.
GS: What are your interests outside of tennis?
TK: Outside of tennis I really like watching lots of Netflix and traveling.
GS: How has your first year of college been? Any moments that stick out?
TK: My first year of college has been good, I realized the importance of time management and even using every little bit of free time available is very crucial to finishing everything on my daily to-do list. Something that stuck out was when we spent 16 straight hours at baseline during Regionals, waiting till Caroline finished her singles.
Story by Athletic Communications Student Assistant Nirav Sura.
Players Mentioned
