The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

HAVING played in her fourth tournament for the year, Sydney Clarke said she’s glad to have made the adjustment to her game from the start of her sophomore season at the University of Arlington at Birmingham.

Over the weekend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Clarke and the Blazers’ tennis team completed their fall season at the Roberta Alison Fall Classic where they earned 10 match wins with six of them coming in victories over Power 5 schools.

In doubles play, after they fell to Indiana and Tulane, Clarke and partner Maggie White clinched a 6-3 win in the back end of the draw. And in the Big Al Draw against Troy, Clarke pulled off a 7-6, 7-5 win in singles.

“The tournament was great. It went by very quickly, but it was great overall,” Clarke said. “I saw a tremendous improvement in my game and I got to play a lot of great players. So it was a good improvement for me.”

Although the fall season came to a close after the tournament, Clarke is expected to play in a minor tournament next weekend. However, she said she had to endure an up and down season this year.

“I started off really rough, but right now I’m starting to peak, so it’s getting better,” she said. “I was able to see the way I started and how I ended. I was able to end on a positive note so my performance can only go up from now.”

The former CR Walker Secondary High student who went on to finish high school at Windsor School as a member of the Albany Tennis Academy said if she can work on her base game, she will be able to play up to her full potential.

“My main goal this season was to just try to figure out my base game, what are the things I do well and what are the things I need to continue to improve as I prepare for the spring season next year,” she pointed.

After playing in four tournaments this year, Clarke amassed a 6-4 win-loss record in singles and 5-4 in doubles. She’s now looking forward to getting back on track when the spring season starts over the weekend of January 22-23 when UAB takes on Furman and Auburn in Auburn, Alabama. “I just have to stay in shape and do a lot of off court stuff in the gym, eating right and just trying to get better off court,” she said. “We’re now in our offseason, so we won’t get as much tennis in, so I just have to do my part off the court, stretching and exercising and all that good stuff to make sure I’m in shape for spring.”

Unlike her freshman year when there were more restrictions due to COVID- 19, Clarke said they are now in full class sessions and so there is a lot more work to be done when they were subjected to a lot of online classes.

“So far, I’ve been able to keep up with everything,” pointed out Clarke, who is currently studying entrepreneurship as a major with a minor in mass communication. “There’s a lot more work than last year, but I’m able to keep up with it.”

As a freshman, Clarke finished last season with an 18-6 win-loss record, hooking up with Jana Hecking with the best mark of 3-4 in doubles as she helped UAB to an overall 14-7 record with a 3-1 in conference play, 7-1 at home, 5-5 on their opponents’ home court and 2-1 on neutral grounds.

At 19 with her birthday coming up on November 18, Clarke said she’s just eager to come home once school closes on December 10 so she can enjoy some Bahamian food and the nice cool weather because it’s getting colder in Birmingham.

“I want to come home, go to the beach and eat some nice food,” said Clarke, who will sit her final exam on December 6 or7.

The 5-foot, 5-inch eldest daughter of Shayvon and Bernard Clarke with a younger sister Sarai Clarke following in her footsteps, is the former number one junior player in the country and in the region. She played at the number two spot this year on the Bahamas team at the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly the Fed Cup for women.