SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. — In pursuit of back to back appearances in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament, the Lake Superior State women's tennis team is making its final push for the postseason tourney in Midland, Mich.

Among the standouts from last season's squad helping the team in that push is sophomore Nadege Koua. 

A native of Laval, Quebec, Koua was drawn to Lake State for the opportunity to play collegiate tennis by another member of the team from the same area.

"I came here for the tennis actually and I knew AlexiAnn Drouin from the team," she said.  "She got me in contact with [head coach] Luke [Ogren] and that's how I found LSSU. Last year, I came to visit and liked what I saw."

Koua went on to say she lived four hours away from Drouin's hometown of St. Georges, Quebec, and used to play the same tournaments.  "We played twice against each other before coming here."

Having played tennis recreationally since age eleven, Koua began competition when she turned fourteen.  She played soccer in addition to tennis, but prefers tennis due to it largely being an individual sport, although the college game is somewhat of a synthesis of team and individual.

"Soccer is more of a team sport and, even here, [tennis] is more of a team sport, but it's still an individual sport," she remarked.  "It's a little selfish to say it like that, but it's like you're alone on the court. Whatever happens, it's because of you alone. Also, it's a good mental sport that gives me confidence."

Like her Quebecoise teammate Drouin, Koua was almost exclusively a singles player before coming to Lake State.  Doubles was only present in the province's regional championships. "I prefer singles, but I like both right now.  Before, I only did singles, but I discovered I was a really good doubles player."

A kinesiology major, Koua had an interest in becoming a physiotherapist before attending college.  Of her degree options, kinesiology seemed the best fit.

"I asked Luke what program would best suit me and, before the program was called exercise science, but now it's kinesiology," she said.  

The kinesiology program at Lake Superior State has many opportunities for internships.  As Koua is only a sophomore, she has not yet done one. When the time comes, she mentioned she may do one closer to home, as most of the opportunities for internships in Sault Ste. Marie focus on athletic training.

Kinesiology students at Lake Superior State have three different concentrations: rehabilitation sciences, human performance and sport & fitness management.  In addition, a double concentration exists where students may concentrate in sport & fitness management and either rehabilitation sciences or human performance.  The courses are geared and scheduled in such a manner that allows students to complete both concentrations without spending extra time in school.

Challenges that face Koua in the program are common for student athletes: time management.  Luckily for her, this is nothing new.

"We're in season and we have a lot of homework, but I'm good at managing time," she said.  "Since high school, I've been playing and studying at the same time, so I know how to manage my time."

For some students who come from large cities, the transition to college life in a small town takes some doing.  But for Koua, who lives just outside of Montreal, having the connection with the tennis team helped.

"I've got pretty great friends, so it wasn't a hard transition," remarked Koua.  "For me, it was really fun being away from home. There's not a lot to do, but the people are really nice.  It makes me want to stay in and study more instead of going out."

Last season, the Laker women compiled a record of 8-9 (4-5 GLIAC), qualifying for the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2011.  Koua had played numerous tournaments beforehand, but admits to being nervous going into the league tourney.

"I've played nationals twice in my life (winter 2018, summer 2018), so that was pretty big because it involved the whole country," she said.  I've played some tournaments like that. I'm originally from Ivory Coast, my parents are both from there, and I was able to play a tournament there in 2017, so I'm used to tournaments, but as a team, I've never played something like that and I was so nervous."

The event in the Ivory Coast of which Koua spoke was the Abidjan Junior International Championships, which were held in April of 2017.

Besides herself, Koua's younger brother Ange-Kevin also plays tennis and is, according to Nadege, highly touted.

"He's actually better than I was at his age, so he's really good.  He's fifteen and, nationally, he's one of the best in Canada for his age," she remarked.

Ogren was very complimentary of his No. 2 singles player, who is 5-2 going into the final weekend of the fall season.

"Nadege has a lot of talent and a very powerful game," said Ogren.  "She is a huge asset to the team in singles and doubles. She has improved a lot in the mental aspect of the game since getting here.  She is able to overcome adversity and play with a lot more confidence."

Koua and the Lakers host GLIAC foes Davenport and Purdue Northwest this weekend, as they make a push for consecutive trips to the conference tourney.

Soo Builders Building Champions is brought to you by Soo Builders, proud partner of Laker Athletics.