Ronaldson Finds New Confidence At CU

BOULDER – The clear air of Boulder and the mountains surrounding it can almost be therapeutic. A chance to take a deep breath of fresh, cool air can help anyone refocus on the tasks set in front of them.

For University of Colorado junior Louise Ronaldson a breath of fresh mountain air was exactly what she was looking for. Having recently transferred from Mississippi State, Ronaldson has dealt with situations that might have ruined other players, but after taking on the adversity she was faced with, Ronaldson is ready to return to the top form she first carried over the pond from her native country of England.

Ronaldson, known simply by her teammates as 'Lou', developed a knack for tennis at a young age. Growing up in her hometown of Hammersmith, London, England, Ronaldson would follow her older brother down to the local tennis courts to watch him play, "I was about four-years old when my brother started playing tennis," said Ronaldson.

"I had a little practice golf club and a little ball that I would hit with the golf club, but at the time I was too young to play," said Ronaldson. "I would just stand outside the court and do whatever they were doing on the court. And then one day the coaches saw me playing, and they asked if I wanted to join in."

A tennis player was born. And Ronaldson began to play more and more developing a real talent for a game that she was beginning to fall in love with. But tennis wasn't the only sport that Ronaldson excelled at, as she entered into high school.

"Well my dad played field hockey when he was younger," said Ronaldson. "And he really wanted me to play field hockey instead of tennis. And actually I was better at field hockey then tennis."

But a knee injury caused Ronaldson to have to choose between tennis and field hockey. "Because I had a knee injury and the movements were so different I had to pick between tennis and field hockey," said Ronaldson. "I decided that even though I liked hockey, I preferred tennis so I just thought I had to put everything into that sport. And that's when I really started to focus and get serious."

Playing tennis allowed for Ronaldson to begin traveling around Europe, playing in tournaments with the chance of being seen by American collegiate coaches.

"Going to college in America was kind of on my mind, though at the time I wasn't actively looking."

But a trip to Luxembourg changed all that.

Playing in a tournament in Luxemburg, Ronaldson happened to get the chance to play in front of one of the Mississippi State assistant coaches for the men's team. He was there to watch someone else, but when that player didn't play due to injury he decided to check out the women's matches.

"It was kind of like a fluke accident thing that happened," said Ronaldson. "After watching me play he thought that I would be a good fit for the women's team at Mississippi State. So he put me in contact with the women's coach at Mississippi State."

So Lou was off to the south, and the SEC. One of the hardest conferences in the country with some of the toughest one through six lineups that any conference has to offer. But Ronaldson was ready to face the tough competition, and when she got to Mississippi State she stared down that competition and didn't blink.

"I absolutely loved my time at Mississippi State," said Ronaldson. "I just enjoyed the college atmosphere and it was all going really well. I don't think I really changed that much, I just got more confident in myself."

Ronaldson showed that confidence right away, quickly becoming one of the top freshmen in the SEC. She went 18-15 in singles play and 15-13 in doubles action. Twice she was named SEC Freshman of the Week, and she was ranked as high as No. 53 in doubles and as high as No. 124 in singles by the ITA.

She went 4-8 in singles when facing SEC competition, and individually one of her biggest wins came when she upset 32nd-ranked Belinda Woolcok of Florida. But she showed her ability to close against the sixth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, winning her third set against Emily Zabor 7-6 to clinch the final point for one of the biggest upsets in Mississippi State history.

Things were rolling along for Ronaldson, but sometimes life has a way of throwing down the gauntlet. And for Ronaldson, as her freshmen year carried on, adversity came her way.

"I got really sick, I had gotten mono for about eight months," said Ronaldson. "So I played the last bit of my freshman year with mono and I didn't even know I had it."

Mono submarined the tail end of her freshmen season, and put a handicap on her sophomore season from the start. She returned to Mississippi State not sure if that was where she wanted to stay, after everything that had happened near the end of her first season.

"During my sophomore season I had to deal with the fact, since I hadn't ended the previous season strong, that I wasn't the star anymore," said Ronaldson. "There was a lot of adversity that I had to deal with. And it was mentally hard for me to just be like is this worth it, is it going to be worth it in the end."

Ronaldson began to think about what she should do next, and the opportunity of a fresh start on a new team and in a new town was something she truly considered.

"I just didn't feel like I was going to play anymore for that specific team," said Ronaldson. "So when I decided to leave, it was me making a decision to go 100 percent with my tennis and to know that I'm good enough. I wanted to start fresh and forget about what happened, a chance to start a new."

"I made the decision at the end of my sophomore season," said Ronaldson. "I talked to my coaches about two days before I flew home this past summer and I told them that I was going to leave."

Ronaldson made the choice to leave Mississippi State without committing to another school or really knowing where she was going to be playing for this season. But she had already faced plenty of adversity, so stepping into the unknown was nothing for her.

"It was scarier for me on deciding whether or not to leave Mississippi State, but once I made my decision I just told myself that I was just going to stick with it and that I was going to be 100% in to whatever I do and wherever I end up."

Once Ronaldson made it home this past summer, the offers began to pile up and she was given a choice of where she wanted to go. She took advantage of her new opportunities visiting several schools across the country, but one really stuck out to her.

"I fell in love with CU when I first saw it. This place, it just really caught my attention," said Ronaldson. "When I visited here I just knew that this is where I wanted to go, it just seemed that I fit in really well here, which is nice."

Enrolling late, Ronaldson didn't commit and enroll into classes at CU until the last week in July. That hasn't slowed Lou down, as she has already started off strong for the Buffs going 5-1 in doubles and singles combined at the CU Invitational held during the last weekend of this past September.

This coming week the Buffs travel to Albuquerque, N.M., for the ITA Mountain Regionals and Ronaldson is prepared to succeed again just like she did one she first started playing. "I just want to play," said Ronaldson.

"I've been working on a couple of things during the last two weeks we've had off. So it's kind of nerve wracking, but also its exciting to know that what you've worked on in practice you've got a chance to put it into a match and test how it goes."

"At this point in the season, since it's been a while since I've consistently played singles, I don't really have any goals with results. I just want to focus on the process and then see if the outcome will go how I want it to."

Ronaldson took the SEC by storm two years ago, but she was struck down with a dose of bad luck. But one thing that Ronaldson has done is never give up hope, or lose confidence in herself. It's allowed her to recover from any adversity that she's faced, and she's prepared to handle anything that comes her way this season.

"I just want to really enjoy every time I step out on the court," said Ronaldson. "I'm rediscovering my love for the game, and so far it's just been so much fun, even though it's been hard, it's just been fun rediscovering everything."

CU opens play at the ITA Mountain Regional Championships today in Albuquerque.

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Players Mentioned

Louise Ronaldson

Colorado University Athletics