First-year women’s tennis player off to hot start

Lehigh women’s tennis first-year Maggie Forkner has emerged as a prominent player as the tennis season begins to unfold. 

Throughout the first weeks of the season, Forkner has asserted her dominance on the court with four singles wins, including one at the No. 2 court. 

After recently being named Patriot League Player of the Week, Forkner debuted at the No. 1 court this past weekend and went 4-0 in singles matches against Johns Hopkins and Binghamton.

Like many children, she tried out a variety of sports before landing on tennis. Forkner was introduced to the world of competitive tournaments at 6 years old and won her first local tournament at 8 years old. 

Throughout Forkner’s elementary and middle school years, she developed her skills through private and group lessons. 

With no club tennis teams at the juniors level, Forkner took advantage of her high school’s tennis team. It wasn’t until she joined the team that she realized the team-first environment was something she had been missing thus far in her tennis journey. 

During her four-year tenure on the varsity tennis team, Forkner was exposed to what it meant to be a valuable teammate in an individual sport. Through her passion and love of the game, she knew she wanted to pursue tennis in college.

“I think that made me really look forward to playing college because that was more of a team environment and atmosphere and checking to see what a team dynamic and tennis would be like,” Forkner said.

Forkner described her tournament experience in the United States Tennis Association (USTA),  as “kind of lonely on court” since there was no cheering from parents or coaches. 

On the flip side, collegiate matches are expected “to be loud.” 

At Lehigh, Forkner quickly immersed herself in the vibrant community and took advantage of the academic and athletic opportunities. 

With a small team, she was able to find her biggest support system through her teammates. Studying together, trips and team dinners allowed for a seamless transition for the first-years. 

“It makes us feel (closer) and it’s another level of trust that we put into each other that we can fall back on during matches or practices,” Forkner said. 

Playing on a doubles team for the first time competitively has been a learning curve for the first-year. 

She says the guidance of her doubles partner, Allyce Gaborik, and coach, Olivia Leavitt, has helped her acclimate.

“I have my teammates, they’ve helped me a lot and gave me a lot of tips,” Forkner said. “(It’s) really awesome to have that kind of support system.” 

In the fall, Forkner and three other teammates traveled to Columbia University to play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITAS) regionals. Over four days, the team competed against other top players from various colleges in both singles and doubles tournaments. 

Forkner and teammate Megha Dania reached the round of 32 in the doubles tournament, the farthest any Lehigh duo has gone in the competition. 

Dania shared her admiration for Forkner’s ambition as a younger player on the team.

“She plays fearlessly, she goes after it, hits through her shots, plays aggressively,” Dania said. “It’s really great to see someone coming in even as an underclassmen and really dominating and just playing their game.” 

As she reminisced about her experience, Forkner noted how it exposed her to a higher level of competition and allowed her to observe other teams’ dynamics. The unique atmosphere of the Columbia University Tennis Center and her first experience of New York City left a lasting impact on her. 

Leavitt describes Forkner as “very driven” and a “hard worker.”  She said Forkner’s curiosity to constantly get better alongside these attributes is what allowed her to stick out. 

“Our value system (is) called the steel mindset and that stands for supportive, toughness, energy, effort and learning,” Leavitt said. “I think Maggie definitely has shown up and each one of those values or has kind of lived out each one of those values in parts throughout her time here.”

Forkner hopes to continue to grow as she transitions into Patriot League play. As Forkner looks forward to the journey ahead of her, she hopes to continue invoking the “steel mindset” by taking control of her destiny, asking questions and continuing to work hard.