Katie Ta signs with Brown University!
It is official! Katie Ta has chosen to attend and play on the tennis team for Brown Univeristy starting in the Fall of 2015!
We are so proud of her and could not be happier with all of her accomplishments!
All the hard work and dedication on and off the court have paid off!
Her dream of attending and playing for an Ivy League school became true when she finally decided to sign with the Brown Bears.
We are very excited for the next chapter of her life and wish her the best of luck!
Here is an interview by tennisrecruting.net on her decision to play for Brown Univeristy. http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=2070
Katie Ta (Mission Viejo, Calif.) to Brown
The Ivy League is rich in both athletic and academic tradition, and its tennis programs are usually able to attract impressive recruits who are elite both as students and as tennis players. Five-star senior Katie Ta is one such student-athlete. In the classroom, Ta maintains a 4.55 GPA while taking more than a dozen AP and IB classes, and she has consistently been ranked among the Top 50 players in the Class of 2015 for the past two years. Next year, Ta will take those impressive credentials to Providence, R.I., to compete for the Brown Bears.
Katie Ta chose Brown
Congratulations! What were the main factors that went into your decision? What do you like about Brown?
I primarily considered the tennis program, academic curriculum, and campus life. The schools I considered all had elite academic programs, so it mainly came down to the school and campus life. Brown is very undergrad-focused, and it has a campus life where I can see myself fitting in.
I really like Brown's open curriculum because it will allow me to explore other disciplines outside of my preferred concentration [computer science]. I also feel like the open curriculum creates a unique academic atmosphere for its students - since the students get to choose which classes to take. I realized after my visits that Brown was the best fit for me.
How many visits did you make to narrow things down?
During a week this past April, I took unofficial visits to Yale, Princeton, Brown and Columbia - and I did official visits to Brown and Columbia in September. My unofficial visits seemed a bit rushed since I was visiting multiple schools in one week, so I think got a better sense of the schools on my official visits.
At Brown, I sat in on a few classes, watched them practice, and hung out with the girls over the weekend. I just fell in love with the Brown campus. I loved how everyone I met - even people not on the team - was so friendly and welcoming.
Talk about the Brown coaches. What interactions did you have with them?
Coach Wardlaw has a great, organized program. He is supportive of the girls not just in tennis but also in school - which really means a lot to me.
The assistant coach, Bianca [Aboubakare], is awesome. She's from Southern California, so we have a lot in common - she really feels like an older sister to me. Bianca went to Brown as well, so I know she'll be a good mentor to have around.
They both are so easy to talk to, and they really made me feel a part of the team. Coach Paul contacted me early during my junior year and he first watched me play at Hard Courts last summer.
I had regular contact with Bianca as well. She came to watch me train at Woodbridge Tennis Center and made an effort to watch me play at various tournaments in California, Arizona, and Memphis. It can be pretty nerve-racking competing in front of coaches, but I didn't feel like that with the Brown coaching staff.
Do you have goals or expectations for your freshman year?
I am really looking forward to playing collegiate tennis - and to working with Coach Paul and Coach Bianca. One of my goals is to be able to contribute to the team so Brown can be a strong contender in winning the Ivy League. Since I have lived in Southern California all my life, I am also excited about having that East Coast experience at Brown.
