Losing Megan Bradley to graduation was tough for the women’s tennis team, but standout transfer Audra Cohen is expected to fill her shoes.
Before she can get back to playing matches and helping the program, Cohen will have to rehabilitate her injured back.
“The coaching staff and I have worked out well together,” Cohen said. “They have helped to work with my injury.”
Cohen already has one thing in common with Bradley: both transferred to Miami after their freshman year of college. Bradley went to UCLA and Cohen attended Northwestern. The talent of the UM coaching staff was one of the main reasons Cohen decided to make the switch in schools.
“The program is very successful,” Cohen said. “I can improve my game a lot more here than a place like Northwestern.”
Cohen said she thinks she can bring something different to this Miami team.
“I am pretty loud on the court,” Cohen said. “I am a bit of a screamer, and I am very emotional. Hopefully the team will feed off me and me off [of] them.”
Cohen comes to Miami with a long list of accomplishments in her short college career. She was 51-7 overall, which ties her for third in the modern era of women’s tennis. She was named an All-American in both singles and doubles competition.
Cohen also was the top ranked women’s tennis player for the first two months of the spring tennis season.
This is only a small sample of her 2004 season. Cohen said she did not know until recently how good she was.
“I was not a really good junior in the 14-and-under league,” Cohen said. “I wasn’t elite, as my rankings are now. It started to kick in during my junior year of high school.”
Despite all the accolades, Cohen said she knows that she cannot just sit back on talent alone. Cohen is always working to get better at her craft.
“I could end points a little bit quicker,” Cohen said. “I get a little bit comfortable.”
Cohen aspires to be a leader with her level of excitement and in the way she approaches her matches. This approach goes beyond the tennis court, because Cohen has bigger goals than college tennis. She has her eyes set on being a professional but realizes that she has a lot of work ahead.
“I would like to play pro tennis after college,” Cohen said. “I think that this is a responsible goal because I will have a college degree to fall back on.”
Cohen said that fans can look forward to following their women’s tennis team this year.
“This year’s team is going to do very well,” Cohen said. “We have a lot of new players and a lot of talent and possibilities. Most importantly, we have feisty and gritty players that do not accept losing.”
Denis Brown can be contacted at dbrown@umsis.miami.edu.