For junior Taylor Kiser, tennis was not always a sport he saw himself playing in college. As a child, Kiser had a friend who had been playing tennis since the age of four.
“I always picked on him for playing a girls’ sport, so he challenged me to try it,” Kiser said. “I went to a summer clinic and ended up liking it.”
Since that summer clinic, Kiser has been playing tennis for nine years, three of them spent here on Eastern’s campus. In addition to being captain of his high school tennis team, Kiser also found time to be on the football team.
While at Eastern, Kiser plays football with the Eastern “No Glory League” and also tries to involve himself in as many intramural sports as possible.
One of Kiser’s greatest achievements in sports came during his senior year of high school. Playing in a doubles match, Kiser and his partner came from behind to beat a team that his high school had not defeated in eight years.
Kiser also considers it one of his finest achievements to be coaching the Kea-Guffin Powder Puff team to an undefeated season and winning the first superbowl in Eastern’s history.
In addition to his success playing high school tennis, Kiser has also managed to draw attention in the PAC Tournament while at Eastern. In last year’s PAC Tournament, Kiser took second place in Flight 4 singles and second place in Flight 2 doubles with his partner, senior Eric Sauder.
“I think the tennis team has an opportunity to win the PAC this year,” Kiser said. “We have solid players throughout the lineup, but the wins won’t come easy. We are going to have to play with a lot of intensity.”
Kiser also believes there is one thing that Eastern students may be able to do in order to spur the team onto victory:
“Come out and support us,” he said. “We like all the screaming fans we can get.”