Completed Event: Women's Tennis versus California on May 1, 2026 , Loss , 1, to, 4
Final Score
Women's Tennis
1
vs California
4
The University of Utah Athletics
Drop Shots: Katya Hersh
11/20/2019 3:24 PM | Women's Tennis
Katya Hersh is the sole freshman on the Utah women's tennis team and came to Utah as a four-star recruit out of high school. The Carpentersville, Ill. native finished her first fall season with the Utes a couple weeks ago at the UNLV Invitational, where she advanced to the singles finals of the flight three bracket, as well as the doubles final in the main draw. Get to know the Ute freshman before the 2020 season!
Q: When did you first start playing tennis and why?
A: "I first started playing tennis when I was four years old. My parents got me into it because they didn't know what to do with all the extra energy that I had. My mom was the main reason, though. She played collegiate tennis and put me into a tennis class. Other than tennis, I also swam competitively for seven years, along with doing ballet, tap dance, and Taekwondo. I started purely focusing on tennis around the age of 11."
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Q: Growing up in Carpentersville, Ill., what was playing tennis at a young age like there?
A: "I started competitively playing tennis around the age of 14, which is pretty late to start competitive tennis. It was really tough when I first started out and the area where I grew up was very competitive. That was also what was really good about it, though. Because it was so tough and competitive, it gave me an edge when I got to the national level." Â
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Q: You were originally a right-handed player, what made you switch to being a left-handed player?
A: "Naturally I'm right handed and tennis instructors usually stick you with what your dominant hand is. When I started playing with an adult racquet, it was too heavy for me, so I started using two hands. I then wanted to try using my left for tennis because of Rafael Nadal, and how good he was. I wanted to see how good I could be with going lefty, and I stuck with it for a little while."
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Q: What were your biggest takeaways from your time playing tennis at Laurel Springs School?
A: "Laurel Springs was an online school and my decision on finishing up school online was because of playing competitive tennis. A lot of the time you would be gone during the weekends and you would miss Fridays at school, and sometimes Mondays too. It just began to be too much to keep up with. Laurel Springs allowed me to still graduate high school, but also keep my competitive tennis career going, too."
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Q: You claimed three national doubles titles in 2018, which were the Miami Open National L3, Sanchez-Casal National L3, and Rome, Ga. July National L2. What was that experience like?
A: "Those were some of my best tournaments. When I would go into the doubles tournaments, I usually wouldn't have a partner because I attended an online school, so I would usually get one that was randomly assigned. My play style was unique too, so I had to conform to the way that my partner was playing in order to win the match."
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Q: Why did you decide to come to the University of Utah? What stuck out about the U compared to the other schools that you were looking at?
A: "Ever since I was in the sixth grade, I've had a dream of playing Pac-12 tennis. The program is  focused on developing players at the U, so I really liked that. The facilities were great, as were the girls on the team, and I had an instant connection with everybody here at the U."
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Q: What has been the biggest adjustment so far of your freshman year, coming from Illinois to Utah?
A: "Honestly, the lack of good pizza. Chicago is a place that is known for pizza, and we are all very proud of our deep-dish pizza and thin crust pizza as well. That has been the biggest adjustment. Chicago is more of a food city than Salt Lake is. The weather here is so much nicer though, it is so much colder during this time of the year up in Chicago."
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Q: What are you most excited about with playing tennis for the U and also competing in the Pac-12 conference?
A: "I've just always wanted to be in the Pac-12 Conference. It is the toughest conference for women's tennis. I love tough competition, and I knew that going to school here was going to make me a lot better as a tennis player. Also, I like the idea of being the underdog when we are facing some of the schools in the Pac-12, it gives me a lot of motivation to beat them."
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Q: You're planning on majoring in film and media arts, is there a specific reason why you chose that and is there a career you have in mind to go along with it?
A: "I have kind of had a weird gift ever since I was little where if I were to hear a song or part of a movie, I would be able to see that exact part from the movie in my head. I've always been really into musicals, movies, and music videos, and I really like critiquing them and thinking about how I would redo them in my own way. I would like to use that major to move to Los Angeles, and help film movies and music videos, while being able to put my own twist on them and making them my own."
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Q: When you aren't playing tennis, what are some of your hobbies that you enjoy in your free time?
A: "I love to go watch musicals, listen to music, and I'm a really big fan of reading. My mother and I used to always go to bookstores in Chicago. I'm also really into video games because of my dad."
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Q: When did you first start playing tennis and why?
A: "I first started playing tennis when I was four years old. My parents got me into it because they didn't know what to do with all the extra energy that I had. My mom was the main reason, though. She played collegiate tennis and put me into a tennis class. Other than tennis, I also swam competitively for seven years, along with doing ballet, tap dance, and Taekwondo. I started purely focusing on tennis around the age of 11."
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Q: Growing up in Carpentersville, Ill., what was playing tennis at a young age like there?
A: "I started competitively playing tennis around the age of 14, which is pretty late to start competitive tennis. It was really tough when I first started out and the area where I grew up was very competitive. That was also what was really good about it, though. Because it was so tough and competitive, it gave me an edge when I got to the national level." Â
Â
Q: You were originally a right-handed player, what made you switch to being a left-handed player?
A: "Naturally I'm right handed and tennis instructors usually stick you with what your dominant hand is. When I started playing with an adult racquet, it was too heavy for me, so I started using two hands. I then wanted to try using my left for tennis because of Rafael Nadal, and how good he was. I wanted to see how good I could be with going lefty, and I stuck with it for a little while."
Â
Q: What were your biggest takeaways from your time playing tennis at Laurel Springs School?
A: "Laurel Springs was an online school and my decision on finishing up school online was because of playing competitive tennis. A lot of the time you would be gone during the weekends and you would miss Fridays at school, and sometimes Mondays too. It just began to be too much to keep up with. Laurel Springs allowed me to still graduate high school, but also keep my competitive tennis career going, too."
Â
Q: You claimed three national doubles titles in 2018, which were the Miami Open National L3, Sanchez-Casal National L3, and Rome, Ga. July National L2. What was that experience like?
A: "Those were some of my best tournaments. When I would go into the doubles tournaments, I usually wouldn't have a partner because I attended an online school, so I would usually get one that was randomly assigned. My play style was unique too, so I had to conform to the way that my partner was playing in order to win the match."
Â
Q: Why did you decide to come to the University of Utah? What stuck out about the U compared to the other schools that you were looking at?
A: "Ever since I was in the sixth grade, I've had a dream of playing Pac-12 tennis. The program is  focused on developing players at the U, so I really liked that. The facilities were great, as were the girls on the team, and I had an instant connection with everybody here at the U."
Â
Q: What has been the biggest adjustment so far of your freshman year, coming from Illinois to Utah?
A: "Honestly, the lack of good pizza. Chicago is a place that is known for pizza, and we are all very proud of our deep-dish pizza and thin crust pizza as well. That has been the biggest adjustment. Chicago is more of a food city than Salt Lake is. The weather here is so much nicer though, it is so much colder during this time of the year up in Chicago."
Â
Q: What are you most excited about with playing tennis for the U and also competing in the Pac-12 conference?
A: "I've just always wanted to be in the Pac-12 Conference. It is the toughest conference for women's tennis. I love tough competition, and I knew that going to school here was going to make me a lot better as a tennis player. Also, I like the idea of being the underdog when we are facing some of the schools in the Pac-12, it gives me a lot of motivation to beat them."
Â
Q: You're planning on majoring in film and media arts, is there a specific reason why you chose that and is there a career you have in mind to go along with it?
A: "I have kind of had a weird gift ever since I was little where if I were to hear a song or part of a movie, I would be able to see that exact part from the movie in my head. I've always been really into musicals, movies, and music videos, and I really like critiquing them and thinking about how I would redo them in my own way. I would like to use that major to move to Los Angeles, and help film movies and music videos, while being able to put my own twist on them and making them my own."
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Q: When you aren't playing tennis, what are some of your hobbies that you enjoy in your free time?
A: "I love to go watch musicals, listen to music, and I'm a really big fan of reading. My mother and I used to always go to bookstores in Chicago. I'm also really into video games because of my dad."
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