The lady hawks tennis team is gifted with great athletes who dedicate themselves to tennis day in and day out, as each practice and match goes by.
One of those athletes includes English-born Olivia "Liv" Howlett, who was ranked No.1 in the country at the beginning of the season and has been playing tennis almost all of her life. Howlett came to HCC to play tennis in 2008. Before coming to Tampa, she was living at a full-time tennis academy in Southwest England.
"I have been playing tennis for 10 years now; my mom got me into tennis just as a bit of fun but then has supported me ever since I said I wanted to play at a high level," said Howlett.
What started off as just a hobby has turned into a way of life for this athlete. Every day she dedicates herself everyday to play as best as she can. She takes her tennis career very seriously which most likely helped her and her teammates win the national title last year. One of her favorite parts of tennis is when she gets the chance to win close matches for her school.
The left-handed Howlett looks up to the Swiss-born player Patty Schnyder as a role model, and is told that she has a very similar style to Schnyder, who is also a southpaw.
Now, besides being a great individual player, Howlett makes a pretty good team mate as well. She plays doubles with Canadian-born teammate Jillian O'Neill. They are ranked as the No. 1 doubles team in the country.
What does Howlett plan to do after she is done playing at HCC?
"I see myself transferring to a top Division I school on a scholarship or getting back into tennis full time," said Howlett.
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