Doctor’s Orders: Medical Career on Hold for Tranckino
Amy Tranckino was supposed to be entering her second year of premed this fall at UC San Diego. But a funny thing happened on her way to the doctor’s office. Tranckino found her tennis game.
Known mainly for her doubles game at Dana Hills High, Tranckino played tennis at UCSD almost as an afterthought. But as a UCSD freshman, she finished the season ranked fourth among Division III singles players and nearly led the Tritons to an NCAA team title.
In search of tougher competition, Tranckino has transferred to UC Irvine, where she will focus on tennis and put her medical career on hold.
“I might still want to be a doctor, but I love tennis so much,” she said. “That’s where my heart is now.”
Tranckino began falling in love with tennis last year while playing the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn. summer circuit. She begins this summer’s circuit Thursday morning at the Coto Valley Tennis Club in Coto de Caza. It was about this time last summer that Tranckino’s game received an overhaul from her new private coach, Mark Walpole.
“Mark changed my strokes,” Tranckino said. “We worked on hitting the ball harder, my footwork, my conditioning and my topspin. I made great leaps in my game last summer.”
Tranckino worked her way through the consolation bracket at the Coto Valley tournament, upsetting a few Pac-10 players along the way. By the end of the summer, she had an NCAA singles ranking of 40. Still, she went to UCSD with medicine on her mind and tennis on the back burner.
“I had no idea that I’d even play on the team,” she said.
But it didn’t take long for Tranckino to realize that academics was going to be much more competitive than tennis in La Jolla. Immediately, Tranckino claimed the No. 1 singles spot.
“A few months into the year, I was thinking I needed more of a challenge, in the matches and at practice,” she said.
Tranckino began practicing on her own with a private coach, before or after Triton practices. She then placed a call to UCI Coach Mike Edles, who recruited her in high school.
Tranckino left UCSD with something to remember her by. In a 5-4 victory over Amherst of Ohio in the NCAA semifinals, Tranckino won the deciding match in a three-set upset of Division III’s top-ranked player, Jamie Cohen. The Tritons lost in the final, 5-4, to Trinity of Texas. In the individual tournament, Tranckino reached the semifinals in singles and doubles and she was named rookie of the year in Division III.
Two weeks ago, Tranckino was given a spot on UCI’s team and a two-year scholarship. Because she is transferring, Tranckino cannot be given a scholarship next season, but she can pay her own way to play Division I tennis.
“I want to play in the upper end of the lineup,” said Tranckino, who is undecided on a major. “I want to be as good as I can be.”
ITA UPDATE
Several county players are in the field for the first of four ITA summer events. Notre Dame freshman Caylan Leslie of Corona del Mar figures to be a top-seeded player in the women’s draw. Also entered are Illinois freshman Erin Miller (Santa Margarita), Penn State freshman Leigh Ann Merryman (Capistrano Valley), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo freshman Kate Romm (Dana Hills), Southern Methodist freshman Nadia Vaughan (Corona del Mar) and Columbia freshman Jessica Prause (Laguna Hills).
In the men’s singles draw, Sam Adam Webster of San Diego State will probably be seeded first. Santa Clara junior Adam Artunian (Woodbridge) and UCI sophomore Greg Biorkman (University) are also entered.
ITF EVENT COMING?
Harsul Patel, tournament director of the ITA event, is trying to bring an International Tennis Federation junior tournament to the Coto Valley Tennis Club next summer. Most ITF events are traditionally held in Europe and none have been held on the West Coast.
Patel, who grew up in India and played on the ATP Tour for nine months, said he is trying to change that.
“We have ATP and WTA events in Southern California for pro players, but nothing for the top juniors who want to play against international competition,” said Patel, club director at Coto Valley.
“All the European and Asian juniors play these ITF tournaments, but most of our juniors only play regional and national tournaments. That’s why you see this gap between our juniors and juniors from other countries.”
Patel is also focusing on the Trabuco Hills High program. He was recently named varsity coach of the boys’ and girls’ teams.
“The tennis program has been down at Trabuco for a long time,” Patel said. “It’s going to take two to three years to turn it around, but I think we can do it.”
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