FSB professor playing on three teams vying for national tennis championship
Gillian Oakenfull will play for three national tennis championships over the next few weeks.
FSB professor playing on three teams vying for national tennis championship
Gillian Oakenfull is going to have some busy weekends coming up.
Very, very busy.
“I’ll leave on Thursday, play Friday through Sunday, come back on a red eye flight, teach my classes for the week, and do it all over again. Its nuts,” she said.
The Farmer School marketing professor and Center for KickGlass Skills director is part of three United States Tennis Association teams that will play in the over consecutive weekends in October and November.
Oakenfull's tennis journey began in England, where her father encouraged her to pursue the sport from a young age. “I ran, I played tennis, I played table tennis, and then I got to a point where I had to pick one to focus on. My dad was a strong proponent of it being tennis. I think he saw potential income,” Oakenfull said.
Oakenfull’s talent led to a Division I tennis scholarship at in Texas, and she returned to Lamar as an assistant coach while she was earning her MBA. “I spent one summer after college dabbling in pro tournaments and knew that wasn't for me, but teaching tennis has gotten me through some tough spots in my life,” she said.
And then, she stopped playing.
“I didn't really pick up a racket for 30 years, partly because I knew if I got back into it, I'd want to really get back into it, and partly because I was focusing on building my academic career, recovering from injuries, and raising a family.” Oakenfull said.
Four years ago, Oakenfull's tennis hiatus came to an end when fellow ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University faculty members in her Cincinnati neighborhood convinced her to join their local club team. Initially hesitant, she said she gradually became more involved, eventually joining an indoor club and advancing through the ranks to higher-level teams.
"Once I got in, I started advancing through the ranks. I even switched clubs to play at a more competitive tier. Now, I play on the highest-level team," she said. "I probably play four to five times a week for me to feel like my reflexes are working, where I don't have to think about it and I'm feeling good on the court."
Balancing her academic and family responsibilities with her renewed passion for tennis has required careful time management. "We'll find time in different places, and I'll do things like go play tennis, and I'll grab the boys on the carpool on the way home. I'm working it into the other things we need to do in life," Oakenfull said, noting that her wife, Cindy, also a former college athlete and an FSB professor, understands and supports her commitment to the sport.
"It's important to me to show our three sons the payoff for hard work. I also want them to know I'm still setting goals and pushing myself to achieve my best," she said.
Oakenfull's dedication has paid off. She's now part of three USTA teams at different age levels — over 55, over 40, and over 18 — each of which have now have won through four qualifying rounds - Cincinnati, Ohio Valley district, Ohio state championships, and Midwest sectionals -- to qualify for the National Championships.
“All three teams have gotten through and there's no one team I wouldn't want to be there for. This is the culmination of being together this whole time. It's on the court, but it's also off the court, just having that experience and those memories with those friends and those teammates, is really what I'm there for,” Oakenfull said.
Oakenfull said her sports background has significantly influenced her approach to teaching at the Farmer School of Business. "It was realizing I was an effective teacher on the court that got me thinking about becoming a professor," she explained. "I also use my background in sports and sports science to figure out how we can teach FSB students the skills they need to be successful in their careers."