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Samantha Svendsen thought she had everything lined up perfectly at the start of the year. The four-star senior from Ridgefield, Connecticut had arranged her national tournament schedule and contacted college coaches about watching her play.

Like nearly every other player in the country, the coronavirus pandemic upended her plans.

Four-Star Samantha Svendsen Will Join Delaware in 2021
© Contributed Photo

"I was super upset,” Svendsen said. “But I just reminded myself to focus on what I could control instead of what I couldn't, and used those months to train at private courts and improve my fitness and tennis while being proactive with the recruiting process and keeping constant communication with coaches."

Svendsen decided to hire Daryl Cummings in April to help her reach even more coaches. Cummings connected her with University of Delaware interim head coach Pablo Montana.

Her long wait suddenly became a rush of activity.

"Delaware was not on my radar at all and I was not talking to them until Pablo reached out to me via text and was very aggressive with recruiting me,” she said. “From the first text, we set up a phone call and we really only had three more before I verbally committed. It was quick."