NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament : USC’s Kuhlman Untroubled by the Pressure of Being No. 1

Her teammates call her Coolie, and appropriately so, for nothing seems to bother USC’s Caroline Kuhlman when she is on the tennis court--not even the pressure of being the only unbeaten collegiate singles player this season and the favorite in the NCAA tournament at Austin, Tex.

The tournament began Thursday and will run through May 23.

Kuhlman, 19, a sophomore, is no stranger to pressure or success.

By beating top world players such as Andrea Temesvari and Mary Lou Piatek, Kuhlman has earned a No. 68 world ranking, the highest amateur in the ratings.

She has also qualified for Wimbledon and a second appearance at the U.S. Open, and has been chosen to play in the Goodwill Games in the Soviet Union this summer.

These are extraordinary accomplishments, especially when it is considered that until just recently, her main motivation came from pleasing her parents.

“My parents really pushed me when I was growing up and I didn’t enjoy tennis then,” Kuhlman said. “My mom would yell if I lost, and I always felt like I had to win, or else.”

Now, she plays because she wants to.

“I thrive on the pressure and the pressure just makes me better,” she said. “I love the constant goal of trying to be the No. 1 player in the pros and in college.”

Kuhlman plays a strong baseline game and has developed a strong serve. “I definitely need to work on my net game, though,” she said.

Mary Norwood grew up playing tennis with Kuhlman and is now her roommate and teammate at USC.

“What amazes me most about Caroline is that she’s always mentally tough and when she’s on the court, she’s able to concentrate so well,” Norwood said.

What she is not able to do is talk freely to many people about the pressures of being on the hot seat in women’s tennis. One she can talk to is her coach, Dave Borelli.

In the 12 years Borelli has coached women’s tennis at USC, his teams have won seven national championships. He has also coached players who have done well in the pro ranks, such as Barbara Hallquist-Degroot, Borelli’s current assistant coach, and Beth Herr, the only woman to have won an NCAA singles title thus far for USC.

According to Borelli, Kuhlman’s potential is limitless.

“She’s still in awe over some of the professional players,” he said. “But once she realizes she’s as good all the rest, nothing will stop her.”

Kuhlman, from Lakeside Park, Ky., had no formal instruction between the ages of 12 and 18. She played on her family’s backyard tennis court during those years, and, being the 11th of 12 children, was seldom without someone to practice against.

Although Kuhlman had little experience with taking--and responding to--coaching, that has not been a problem, Borelli said.

“She’s a very quiet person, but she’s one of the most unselfish, emotionally well adjusted people I’ve ever met,” he said.

Kuhlman has had to adapt to playing on a team, and deal with those extra pressures.

“The pressure gives me extra incentive to win,” she said. “But it is hard because I feel it should be such a letdown to the team if I didn’t.

When, and if, she does lose, she is afraid she won’t know how to handle it. She said she hopes that the confidence built from her many victories will pull her through.

Kuhlman also has begun reordering her priorities. Before starting college, she stressed academics over athletics and had thoughts of majoring in sports medicine.

Now, she wants to focus her attention on tennis because that is where her life is headed. If she wins the NCAA title this year, staying in school for two more years and passing up the lure of the pros will be difficult, she said.

“I don’t know how much more I could accomplish after that,” she said.

Kuhlman, who teams with Dena Levy to form the eighth-ranked doubles team in the country, said that Beverly Bowes of Texas will be her toughest threat in singles. USC’s No. 2 individual, Heliane Steden, is the fifth-ranked collegiate player.

USC is seeded second in the tournament, behind No. 1 Stanford and its star player, Patty Fendick.