If you thought collegiate sports were only for students in their late teens or early twenties, then you must never have heard about Sinclair Tartan Pride tennis player Maggie Thomas.
The 57-year-old Thomas was the No. 1 ranked player on this past season’s team despite being more than twice the age of most of her teammates. Thomas said while this past season was the first time she played tennis above the club level, she has been fascinated with the sport for a long time.
“When I was about nine years old, my uncle would take us to Triangle Park and I would always see these people playing tennis at the Jim Nichols Tennis Center across the river, and I always wanted to play that sport,” Thomas said. “So my mom took me over there, but it was too expensive for us at the time. And when I got to high school they didn’t have tennis for the girls, but they had it for the boys so I kind of got passed over there.”
Thomas finally began playing tennis at 22 years old after the birth of her third child. She took classes at the YMCA and said she grew to love the sport’s uniqueness.
“I like the individuality of the sport,” Thomas said. “I enjoy winning or losing on my own.”
Thomas has been taking tennis classes at Sinclair Community College since 1998 and said that’s how she got to know Sinclair tennis coach David Pence, who invited Thomas to join the college’s team when the two ran into each other at an ATP tennis tournament in Mason last summer.
“I asked him, ‘You sure Dave, me?’ ” Thomas said about being asked to play. “He said yeah, you can inspire the younger ladies on the team.”
Thomas initially debated whether she was too old to play on the team, but after talking with friends, she decided to join. Teammate Jennifer Kolb, 29, said Thomas was great to have on the team.
“(Thomas) is a very positive person and was a good role model even when times were rough,” Kolb said. “She was always on time, responsible and willing to help others.”
Thomas said despite the age difference, teammates never really asked her for any motherly advice.
“(The team) didn’t look at me as a mother figure,” Thomas said. “They looked at me as a higher level player and as motivation.”
Thomas said she motivated teammates by beating them in practice, but said it was her first win of the season that inspired her to play even harder.
“From that point on, I didn’t win anymore, but I got close,” she said. “I could tell from the way that I played that it wasn’t just a pushover win (when the competition beat me), they had to work for it and I’m talking teenage girls from the ages 18 to 22.”
Thomas felt like the experience advantage she had over her competition helped her in multiple ways. Thomas never stretched much when she played at the YMCA, but now has developed a routine to get her warmed up quicker. Pence said he especially liked Thomas’ attitude.
“If you look at younger kids, a lot of times they get disappointed because they’re losing, but because (Thomas) has lost before, she knows that’s a negative attitude to show and when (players) show that on the court their game is going to be effected, plus everyone around you is going to be effected,” Pence said. “(Thomas) brought that positive aspect of whether you’re losing you still show a positive (attitude) and it rubs off to everyone else.”
Thomas said she is glad that Pence asked her to play and said she has been working on her game all winter to improve her consistency for next season.
“Playing on the team this past season was an accomplishment,” Thomas said. “It’s something I always wanted to do.”