Over the coming weeks, we will catch up with and spend five minutes with a number of Cougar student-athletes. Next up is Washington State senior tennis player Melisa Ates.

You are from Turkey but spending this time in Seattle. How have you been staying busy and talk about what your new normal looks like?
Yes, I am staying in Seattle because of the coronavirus. To be honest, I was a little scared to go back home and not be able to come back. My new normal is not much different than before. I still have online classes, so I usually wake up early and run in the mornings, do homework and study during the day, and do weights in the afternoon. The big difference is not being able to play tennis since the courts are closed here.
 
Over the past year you have focused more on weightlifting, how did that come about?
I really believe that doing weights has had a major impact on my tennis. And I am not naturally built to be super strong. I am pretty skinny, so I feel like I have to do extra weights to keep up with others and of course ideally to be better than them. Also, I love the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction after a good challenging workout.
 
You are a computer science major, how has the adjustment to distance learning gone so far?
At first, I was a little worried about the distance learning, considering the amount of time I spend at the lab or in the tutoring rooms in the engineering building. But our department (VCEA) made an amazing online tutoring schedule which is available during the weekdays pretty much from 9 am to 5 pm. So as long you are looking for help, it is pretty easy to find it. After figuring out my resources to get help, it was easy to adjust.
 
What are your career plans once you hang up your racket?
It took me a long time to figure out my career plans because I have played tennis since I was four years old. Also, coming from a family where every member is a tennis player and does it as a profession, that didn't make it any easier for me to explore different career options. It was always just about tennis. So, the idea of hanging up my racket, letting go of what I've been doing for most of my life, makes me feel really lost and scared. Although, I feel better about the future now when I think of the field that I am majoring in. I am very passionate about computer science and I am planning on getting my master's degree as well. Getting a degree in computer science and playing tennis at the same time wouldn't have been possible if I stayed in Turkey. So, I am very grateful for our head coach Lisa Hart for recruiting me and making a member of the amazing Cougar family.
 
You are a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council as well as the senior captain on the tennis team, how have you grown in those leadership roles?
One of the biggest things I noticed about my personal growth is being more open-minded to other perspectives because everyone has a different way of seeing situations. So, I learned to be much more patient and learned to communicate better, which I believe is the key of having healthy and successful relationships. Also, I started to do a better job at learning from mistakes. Instead of getting sad and have it negatively affect the others on the team, all I care about is the match that is ahead of us. At the end of the day, all we can do is to get our lessons and do our best to get better, to not repeat the same mistakes.
 
Throughout your WSU career, the tennis team has been very active in community service. Have you enjoyed those experiences and maybe touch on what you have done?
Yes, as a team we have been very involved with community service. My favorites have been Coug Pals, food drive and Circles of Caring. Each and every one of them taught me valuable things about life. With our demanding athletic and academic schedule, it is easy to just focus on smaller things rather than seeing the big picture. Thanks to the community service we have done, I personally have become more aware of what matters most and learned how important it is to give back to the community.
 
With your senior season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you are planning to come back and hopefully play a full season next year. What has being a member of the Cougar tennis team meant to you?
It truly means the world to me. Coming from a different country, I felt very alone when I first got here, but that feeling turned into a sense of belonging as soon as I got to spend some time with my teammates and coaches. I feel like the Cougar Tennis program is my second family now. Being a senior on the team, I am well aware of the sacrifices and efforts that my teammates are making, which only makes me want to keep working harder. I am beyond excited to come back and finish my senior year with this amazing team.
 
You've played in some big matches, including being a part of 61 team victories. What has been your favorite match from a team standpoint and from an individual standpoint?
In my four years, the match we played against (No. 10) UCLA (in 2018) was definitely the most memorable one. From the beginning of the day, starting with team breakfast, we were all locked into our goal of winning the day. We knew before the match that we were going to win that day. Everybody on the team trusted each other to get the job done and we had an amazing day on the court while getting a win against a top ten team. Individually, I would say that my favorite match was against a Cal's (No. 1) player last fall, who was ranked No. 24 in the nation. It was just nice to see the level I was able to compete at.
 
You helped the team to the NCAA Championships last season for the first time since 2012. What are your memories from last year?
Going to the NCAAs is always our goal. In 2018, we missed going to NCAAs by one spot. That hurt all of us, but as a team we used it as motivation. We promised each other that we would work hard and held each other accountable for our efforts in practice. In return of our team's dedication, we made it to NCAAs last year. This is one thing that I am very proud of our team. Once the whole team was bought into our mutual goal, it was truly a blessing to be part of a team full of hard-working individuals.
 
You are also seventh on the all-times singles wins list at WSU with 89 victories. What does that mean to you?
Hopefully with my senior season, I will be able to move up on the ranking even more. But its definitely an honor to have made that list at all. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for my team and me.
 
You came to Washington State without taking a recruiting trip. Talk about your first impression when you arrived in Pullman and what your experiences over the last four have been like?
Having picked WSU without a recruiting trip, I didn't know what to expect coming to Pullman. I've always lived in big cities, so at first, I thought Pullman was pretty small and I was worried of what I would have done in my spare time until I figured out that student-athletes don't get a lot of spare time. On the contrary, I believe that living in a smaller city helped me focus on tennis and school more. We have better facilities here in WSU compared to the clubs or schools that I have had previously. Thinking back on my past four years, the Pullman community was very kind, generous and embracing, which I will be forever grateful for.