Shulman Captains Emory Women’s Tennis Team

For Emory University senior tennis captain Stephanie Shulman, the pandemic has been a mixed blessing.

When the country zoomed into lockdown in March 2020, Shulman was in the midst of an impressive rookie season for the Eagles’ women’s tennis team, having compiled a singles record of 7-3 and doubles mark of 6-3. The native of Gates Mills, Ohio, was pursuing her studies in Emory’s Goizueta Business School, involved with Relay for Life, a club that raises money for the American Cancer Society, and making incremental improvements on the court. This was just what Shulman had envisioned a year earlier when she was a senior at the Hawken School in northeast Ohio looking ahead to college.

“A few things played into my decision to attend Emory,” said Shulman in an interview with the Atlanta Jewish Times. “Tennis definitely played a big role in it. It is something special to be able to be a part of a team that competes for a national title every year, and I got along well with the coaching staff and girls on the team. Academics were also something really important to me, and Emory’s reputation and business school were a big factor in my decision as well.”

Alas, COVID did happen and like an untold number of collegiate athletes, Shulman had to make the not-so-easy decision for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year: ride out the pandemic at home (and of course miss the tennis season) or enter the great unknown of college life in the era of COVID. Ultimately, she chose the former option.

“I chose to stay at home my sophomore year during the pandemic to be closer with my family, which was a tough decision having to step away from being on campus that year,” she reflected. “My coaches back home were really helpful in making sure I was still able to train back in Cleveland, being really accommodating with my class schedule. I was hitting every day and working out on my own on the weekends.”

Last fall, she returned to Atlanta for her junior year, on pace to graduate this coming spring. But tennis? Well, thanks to COVID she would have an extra year of eligibility, meaning she can play until spring 2024 — a full year after she receives her diploma. No one is more grateful than Eagles’ head coach Bridget Harding that Shulman is taking advantage of the NCAA ruling.

“Steph has been one of the most impressive players to watch in terms of her growth,” Harding remarked about her senior captain who began playing at Emory during her first year coaching at the Division III school. “She came in as a very talented and strong player. It took her a little while to come into her own mentally in terms of believing that she was as good as she is.

“I think that she’s been able to embrace the team aspect of what we do. And I think through that, she has found confidence in herself, not only as a player but as a leader. And I think that has translated very well into her game.”

Though she took the aforementioned year off, Shulman’s collegiate career has continued to be on an upward trajectory. A year ago, as a junior, Shulman ripped off a 15-7 singles mark, good for an All-University Athletic Association (UAA) Second Team selection. And this fall, during the team’s slate of tournament matches, she’s already garnered a UAA Athlete of the Week award by virtue of capturing the ITA Regional singles title in the late September tourney.

“I am really proud of how much I have improved in my tennis game at Emory,” added Shulman, who grew up in a Jewish household in northeast Ohio and received her early education through the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Cleveland. “There’s a very clear difference in the way that I construct my game and the way I approach matches now, compared to when I got here freshman year.”

An aggressive baseline player equipped with a deadly forehand, Shulman has made great strides with her net game to support the attacks she develops on the baseline. In effect, she has become a more well-rounded player who now has different tools for closing out points.

As Harding noted, Shulman has assumed a prominent leadership role on the lady Eagles team, one laden with underclassmen in need of direction. From organizing team dinners to enhancing team-wide morale, Shulman has been a true asset off the court while emerging as a more demonstrative leader between the white lines.

“I’m most excited to watch the competitor in her continue to come out,” said Harding. “We started to see it really come alive last year, and I think she has just scratched the tip of the iceberg with that.”

While her plans remain uncertain regarding the extra year of eligibility (grad school remains a distinct possibility), Shulman is committed to playing her fourth and final year of collegiate tennis at Emory before embarking on her next tennis journey.

“I definitely think I’ll still end up playing tennis after I graduate. It’s been such a big part of my life. I can’t see it not still being there in the future.”