Freshman tennis player Cassidy Bierbrodt has started her tennis season undefeated in singles play at a notch of 5-0. She attributes that success to several things including her faith, her team, her stepdad and one other very important person in her life.

“The thing that probably most motivates me is my dad. When I was little my dad passed away and he was the one who taught me soccer, softball and basketball. He always taught me to never give up. You are not allowed to quit, you have to give it your all no matter what.” Bierbrodt said.

It is that spirit that now drives Bierbrodt to be successful for her team and herself. During meets, she constantly forces herself to keep pushing point to point, repeatedly saying “one more point, one more point” until the match is finally over.

“You can always play one more point and in my head I tell myself that there is always another point to get,” Bierbrodt said. “In high school I struggled with that but now I always try to push myself to get that next point because that one point could win you the match.”

Bierbrodt may not seem like it, but she is a very competitive person. Behind her calm, quiet demeanor there is a fighter that hates to lose. As she has played more and more over the years, she has learned how to play with that same passion, while still realizing that tennis is just a game.

After starting 5-0, Bierbrodt dropped one match against Coe College but rebounded in the meet with Morningside College, bringing her current record to 6-1.

The team as a whole has started out fairly well, managing to stay at .500 on the year with a 4-4 record. They are 1-2 in conference with losses to Coe and Loras College with their sole win being over University of Dubuque.

This past Saturday was an up and down battle starting with a 9-0 loss to Coe and concluding with a thrilling 5-4 victory over Morningside. It was Bierbrodt that clinched the team’s victory with her win over Natasha Hongsermeier 7-5, 6-1.

Bierbrodt made it clear though she is starting strong she takes none of the glory for herself and gives it all to her team. She is most definitely a team player that looks not only to better herself on the court, but also her team.

When asked what made her so strong against the other 6 ranked players, Bierbrodt was slow to give an answer before finally giving in.

“I would like to think I have a lot of consistency. Even though I don’t hit it very hard, I can consistently get it in and the name of the game is getting it in one time more than the opponent.” Bierbrodt said.

On Wednesday, Bierbrodt and her teammates will head to Cornell College where they will put their undefeated 2-0 road record to the test and attempt to bring their overall record up to 5-4.