Klemash graduates after four years as No. 1 player
It has been 16 years.
It has been exactly 16 years since a women’s tennis player at Waynesburg University was the number one player for the entirety of her career here. But a member of the class of 2016 has added her name to that list: Rachel Klemash.
In 18 years of coaching, says head coach Ron Christman, he can only think of a couple others.
Upon further thought, Christman could only recall one player who walked onto campus their freshman year and was the number one player throughout her entire career. While that player, Andrea Custer, departed long before Klemash, her record did not, standing until 2012.
In 2012 that was Klemash’s freshman year and a huge year for her career. Klemash would not only become the number one player on the team, but also finished the season at 10-6 in singles play, the best mark on the team, and a 10-7 record in doubles play.
Klemash would finish third in the President’s Athletic Conference in singles play and would become the first player to score a pair of victories over Grove City College since before 1998.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Klemash. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but more so happy.”
After freshman year, Klemash would retain her number one spot for the next three years and finish her career at Waynesburg with an overall record of 60-57.
Klemash’s doubles record, 34-27, is an accomplishment. Doubles, according to Klemash, is an area she struggled in before coming to Waynesburg.
“In high school I played doubles but we never worked on doubles or anything,” said Klemash. “Here is whenever coach Christman really taught me how to play doubles; I knew how to play, but not well.”
While Klemash’s play on the court improved and records were eventually smashed, her attitude off the court, she said, also improved.
“I used to have a little bit of a temper when I wasn’t playing as well as I wanted to,” said Klemash. “After sophomore year I just kind of changed that, I wasn’t so hard on myself and I just used that in my daily life to try and not get mad quickly at things.”
The attitude Klemash took led to her success on the court, and tennis, the sport she has been playing since seventh grade, showed her that hard work was also required in life.
“You gotta work hard for things,” said Klemash. “Over the last two years, I have just taken a similar attitude with tennis, schoolwork and kind of shaped myself up and got my act together.”
The work ethic has led Klemash to be named PAC Academic Honor Roll for both the 2013 and 2015 seasons. Her coach also noted the hard work.
“She was one that would go hit with the guys or show up at the courts out of season,” said Christman. “All the good players do that.”
While Klemash pushed herself on and off the court, Christman said, she was also there to support her team and help when needed.
“She’s always been supportive of the team,” said Christman. “I’ve had very good people on teams that you could call them up or text them and email them and say ‘hey we need to do this’ and they step up and would do it. She’s one of those kind of people that made sure things got done.”
While the criminal justice major leaves Waynesburg after a solid four years, tennis, said Klemash, is not in the near future. Depsite being asked to play in a tournament over Christmas, any play on the courts, she said, will be for the sole enjoyment of hitting the little green ball back across the court.
“For now, I’m just playing for fun,” said Klemash. “I’m kind of taking a break.”