Seniors Madeline Heer and Kelsey Post have had a journey together for the past four years that no other athletes on the current Biola University’s Women’s Tennis team have experienced.

Heer and Post see academics, sports, friendships and faith as encapsulating their Biola experience. Heer would convince Post to play tennis competitively at Biola their freshman year, creating a friendship like none other.

“We have formed an inseparable bond because of tennis,” said Post.

Post was not on the court with the team until the second semester of freshman year. She had joined the tennis class when she first arrived at Biola, however, Heer encouraged her to join the team and compete instead of being in the general P.E. class. With much insistence, Post joined the team and competed for the next four years. Post and Heer were doubles partners for three of those years.

“We spent a lot of time together on and off the court freshman year … Playing doubles together has been really cool because we already had built a friendship together our freshman year,” said Heer. “Competing on the same court together and having that aspect, be good friends that are also competitive on the court has been really fun.”

Faith also played a role in their athletics here at Biola with coaches who encouraged them to remain faithful through the good and bad. Post recalled when they had a devotional time and her former coach, Dee Henry, handed out cards for them to read. For Post, there was a quote that she would remember throughout her collegiate career.

“When I would be playing a match, I would hate it when people would come watch me play. One of the cards said ‘Play as if Jesus is your only audience.,’” said Post. “I remember thinking about that and I still remember it when I play. We’re not playing for anyone, we’re not trying to impress anyone or we shouldn’t be. I refer to that a lot, both on and off the court.”

Heer, who is from Huntington Beach, California, played tennis since she was in fourth grade and knew she wanted to play at a collegiate level since high school. Post began playing tennis in high school and had a great experience but did not have a desire to play in college. Both said they would have never traded their college experience for anything else.

“[Athletics] changes your school experience because everything has to be modified to fit all that you have to do for your sport. We’re students first, but the athlete part is pretty even up there,” said Heer.

Post, a business management major, plans to return home to Temecula, California and work as a marketing assistant. Heer, a sociology major, is planning to live in the area and work as a high school coach in Fullerton, Calif. Both hope to continue to play together recreationally and look forward to their friendship outside of Biola.

“The hardest thing about graduating is not being on a tennis team anymore,” said Heer.

More information about women’s tennis team

Written by Clavel Candelaria, iBiola Reporter. For more information, contact Jenna Loumagne, manager of media relations, at (562) 777-4061 or jenna.loumagne@biola.edu.