By Michael Ney
Media Relations Student Assistant
With hard work and the right attitude, dreams can come true. They are within reach, you just need to keep at it.
Senior Daniella Silva is proof of that. The Vancouver, Canada, native's can-do attitude and aggressive determination helped her spend endless hours on the court and in the weight room, playing, practicing, and doing fitness, to prepare her for what is to come at the next level.
"She has a lot of tools to make herself successful," said head coach Ben Cabell. "She's got an all court game and a lot of variety which is going to allow her to adjust to all types of players."
The Canadian is entering into the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Tour, one level below the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour where the top 150 players around the globe compete. The ITF has four rankings of tournaments. Like everyone else, Silva must start at the bottom and work her way up.
In part, since she has had the plan of going professional in the center of her mind, she has found added motivation to succeed.
"From the positive side, [the pressure of going pro] was extra motivation to stay late for extra practice and extra fitness," said Silva. "The pro circuit is tough, I need every edge I can get."
However, a big test for Silva, just like every other professional athlete for that matter, is how to keep their sport fun and enjoyable, making sure it remains a sport and not a job.
"It's a challenge to not get sick of playing," she said. "I realized that tennis is what I really want to do. Keeping that motivation, keeping that big picture, enjoying it, making friends, but also taking breaks and not playing 40 tournaments in a row."
While the future is looking bright for the young star, Santa Clara women's tennis narrowly missed making the West Coast Conference Tournament, despite being part of a three-way tie for sixth place. According to conference rules, only six teams can enter the tournament, with the sixth seed being awarded to BYU based on strength of schedule. Ironically, Santa Clara beat BYU the weekend before the bracket was announced.
"[We were] sad that we didn't get to go," said Silva, who won over 40 singles matches in her career at SCU. "Everyone was pretty upset, pretty crushed. We didn't know what to expect, or who had the edge."
Now that the season is over, Silva will get a taste of what professional competition is like, as she will shortly be heading to Portugal to play four tournaments in a row. And that is her plan for the next year and a half—out and about playing tournaments—whether in California, the US, or back home in Canada. Attacking the professional circuit is her chief goal.
As her career at Santa Clara comes to an end, Silva remembers her time as a Bronco fondly.
"My four years of tennis have been great, exactly what I wanted," said Silva. "It was competitive, it was intense. I got better while I was here. I met great people, both on the team and those who support the team as well. It was everything I hoped it would be."
Silva, a two-time All-WCC honoree, entered college a year early with the plan of getting a degree then hitting the professional circuit. Interestingly enough, most of the athletes in the pro circuit do not go to college, going straight from the junior tour to the senior tour. After her four years at college, Silva feels that she gained maturity and had more time to develop, which will ultimately help her in the long run.
Ahead of Silva lies an incredible life opportunity that few ever receive, both to pursue her dreams and to grow as a person. Silva's already accomplished a great deal in her career thus far and now looks to add even more to her list of impressive accomplishments.
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