Featured Senior: Colin Fisher

What was your most memorable moment throughout your career at Willamette?

For me, it was probably the Fall ITA Regional Tournament during my first year. In the first round of the tournament, I played my older brother (who attended Whitworth at the time) in doubles. It was basically my first competitive collegiate tennis match with my doubles partner, so I entered the match pretty nervous and unsure what to expect. Despite it all, we wound up playing really well and won a close match against them. It gave me a lot of confidence to show up, compete, and beat someone who I have looked up to my whole life, and gave me plenty of things to tease my older brother about afterwards.

Describe your feelings when you found out the season was canceled.

When I first found out I felt a wide mixture of emotions. On one hand, I was sad that the season was over and my career had ended unexpectedly without much closure or control on my part. I also respected the decision and the steps being taken to keep people healthy and safe. It's hard when things you care about change unexpectedly, and I'm definitely still processing through any disappointments or sadness as they get brought back up. For me, I'm trying to change my perspective from being sad about what the season could have been to being thankful for what the season was and the people I got to share it with. Ultimately, I'm glad that tennis is a lifelong sport that I can keep playing competitively after I graduate.

How have you been handling life in quarantine? Are you home or on campus? What's it like learning online and not having practice?

I've definitely been forced to adapt and be flexible during this time and I am still adapting to new routines of productivity and self-care in quarantine. I still live in an apartment on campus with friends and am taking the same classes online, including thesis research in the Physics Department. Most of my classes have transitioned pretty well to online instruction (thanks in no small part to the amazing professors who are adapting curriculum and teaching the classes), though it's definitely a challenge to maintain community with professors and classmates when we're so physically isolated. I've definitely missed playing my sport, striving to get better at practice, and seeing my teammates everyday, but I have done my best to find other ways of getting outside and staying active. Living in quarantine has taught me to appreciate running, which I can't say I ever truly did before it was one of the chief forms of exercise for me like it is now.

What has your experience as a Bearcat taught you?

My experience as a Bearcat with the tennis team has taught me that it's not always all about the result of a competition or match. It's more important instead to be competitive and give it your all, while also having fun and being thankful for the opportunity that is given to you. I played the best tennis of my four years here at Willamette during this season when I decided to have fun and enjoy the sport and those I get to share it with. Changing this perspective helped me to cherish so many more moments of this relatively short season and see my teammates as family.

If you could leave one piece of advice for future Bearcats, what would it be?

My advice would be to keep it simple: enjoy and be present to the fun, everyday moments of sports, school, or being with friends, and seek out ways to create community with those around you and invite others into that community. Our four years at college go by quickly and it truly is a unique experience worth cherishing every moment.

What are your future plans following graduation?

Following graduation I will be taking a gap year by doing an AmeriCorps service year at a non-profit organization in either Boston or Portland, working with food insecurity and how it affects marginalized communities experiencing poverty/homelessness. Afterwards, I plan on attending graduate school to pursue engineering or applied physics.

From their teammates

What was your most memorable moment of Colin?

Kai Kumra: Our dances we did together, and mocking each other.

Gene Perle-Jones: Colin was my doubles partner, and we played a really close match this year that we won in a tie-breaker against Otterbien. It was really the culmination of two years of playing doubles together, struggling and getting better and becoming better friends. We played really well, made the right plays under pressure and had so much fun playing together.

How has Colin impacted you in your sport or in life?

Kai Kumra: We're both physics majors. Our connection through tennis and physics really helped us bond and appreciate each other on and off the court.

Gene Perle-Jones: Playing doubles with Colin honestly has kept me excited for tennis. In singles there's so much pressure, so when you're struggling it can be really hard to enjoy your sport, but playing doubles with Colin made me a better player and kept me excited to play even when it was hard.

What makes Colin special?

Jordan Megiveron: One of the most kind people I have ever met and made everyone feel like they were part of a team with a really good bond

Kai Kumra: His dedication in the classroom to school work. And his GPA is one of the highest of all Willamette's athletes.

Gene Perle-Jones: Even though he is very busy and caught up in school, when he gets to practice he leaves that all off the court and he is 100% focused on just tennis, working his hardest, getting better. He doesn't let anything outside hurt his game or the team.

Is there anything Colin brought to the program that will have a lasting impact?

Kai Kumra: The ability to connect other people, through himself. I feel very connected with other teammates less because of our interactions, but because of both of our interactions with Colin.