Fisher’s energy, spirit livens up court

  CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin Outspoken freshman
Lauren Fisher has established herself as the No. 4
player on the UCLA women’s tennis team.

By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Contributor

If it weren’t for snowy Pittsburgh winters, Lauren Fisher
might be a softball player instead of UCLA’s No. 4 tennis
player.

“If I have nothing to do, I’m pretty
annoying,” Fisher admits.

In order to get their rambunctious daughter out of their hair,
Fisher’s parents made her play indoor tennis during the
winter when she could not play softball.

Although she resisted tennis at first, what began as a hobby
became a serious occupation that gradually took the place of
softball as Fisher advanced to the national level.

Ten years after taking up the sport, Fisher still has the same
energy that got her parents to make her play tennis.

“People like being around her because she’s funny,
she’s fun, and she builds people up,” head coach Stella
Sampras said. Fisher is so outgoing that she strikes up
conversations with anyone on a street corner.

“She probably has more friends on campus than anyone I
know,” Sampras said.

Because Fisher is such a people person, she initially preferred
softball because it is a team effort.

“I didn’t like playing tennis just for myself
because I grew up with a team,” Fisher said. Although she
played individually in the junior division, Fisher still made the
most of her opportunities by getting to know all the girls in the
tournaments.

Now that she is at UCLA, Fisher loves being on a team again. At
the college level, everyone has to play well for the team to win
and Fisher helps the team pull through by cheering loudly at every
match.

Everyone who knows Fisher describes her as someone who speaks
her mind. Initially this had her teammates a bit worried. Sophomore
Sara Walker recalled that during Fisher’s recruiting trip
last year the team took her to a football game. Fisher
couldn’t see so she told the people in front of her to sit
down.

“Great,” Walker thought, “this girl’s
going to be a loudmouth.”

Now, the team loves that loudmouth.

Since arriving at UCLA, Fisher has continued to speak up both on
and off the court. Fisher and doubles partner junior Petya Marinova
are both emotional on the court and shout when they make or miss a
shot.

“If you do something stupid, she’ll tell you then
and there, but not in a mean way,” Marinova said. Although
Fisher is blunt, she is usually positive, and coaches describe her
as both respectful and appreciative of them and her fellow
players.

When asked for example of times when Fisher speaks her mind off
the court, her teammates giggle and say they have no stories that
can be printed. When pressed, sophomore Michelle Stiefel recounted
an incident from the first week of school when a cell phone went
off in lecture.

“The whole class is quiet and Lauren yells,
“”˜Turn that shit off!’ Everyone stared,”
Stiefel said with a laugh.

Fisher speaks her mind because she does not care what others
think. She is informal and unconcerned with trying to please
others. At Nationals, she wore a wife-beater because, as she says,
“I’m not there to make sure my skirt matches my
shirt.”

Her teammates playfully tease Fisher for her laid-back attitude
about uniforms.

“The official UCLA tennis clothes they give us are too big
for her so she wears her roommate’s stuff,” Marinova
said. “She shows up in a tank top and shorts. We make fun of
her for that because they give us so much stuff but she
doesn’t care.”

Despite her light-hearted attitude, Fisher is a serious
competitor and is admired for her work ethic. After track workouts,
Fisher pushes senior Jennifer Donahue to run stairs with her or
stay at the gym for an extra upper body workout.

This kind of commitment to improve has impressed Sampras.

“We loved the way she competed in Juniors. Some players
peak early but she kept moving up. She wants to get better,”
Sampras said.

Fisher’s coaches view her as a future leader. But some say
she is not just a future leader, but a current one.

According to Donahue, “Lauren is a rare freshman because
she is already a leader.”

She’s come a long way for a player whose parents just
wanted to get her out of their hair.