Our “hot” takes have been all over the place so far, and I know that’s partially my fault. I am not sorry. It will, however, disappoint our dear readers to know that The Analyst and NewD3Central are STILL not an item. I’m frustrated but I haven’t lost faith yet. Let’s take a break from Blogger squabbles to catch up with another famous D3 alumnus, Vynnie Kong! Vynnie graduated from MIT in 2015. The 4-star recruit from Northern California was an integral part of the MIT women’s tennis rise in the rankings into the top 10 by her senior year. She played throughout the lineup in both singles and doubles and was unfortunately sidelined by injury her senior year, but has maintained a large presence in MIT Women’s Tennis even after her graduation.
At the suggestion of MIT Head Coach Carol Matsuzaki, we asked Vynnie to catch up and fill us in on her post-college endeavors. And it sounds like she’s been keeping busy.
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ASW: First of all, thanks for catching up with me! Your coach had so many nice things to say about you and I can’t wait to hear some of your wisdom. What have you been up to since graduating in 2015?
VK: Thanks! Happy to be here and grateful that Carol reached out to us for this interview; she’s amazing! I’m originally from the Bay Area, and since graduating have moved back to the west coast. A lot of people from college also moved to the Bay including some of my teammates, so we try and get together every month for dinner.
The past two plus years I’ve been a software engineer at Clever, an edtech (education technology) company whose goal is to increase learning in schools via ease of access to technology in the classroom. The collaborative environment in the office, with people excited to learn from and teach each other, is something that I missed from college and happy to have at work. Through Clever I also teach high school students coding skills for the organization Code Nation.
ASW: That’s so cool that you are able to keep up with your NorCal teammates and have a job with a great working environment. Why did you choose MIT and D3 tennis?
VK: With the skill level I was at (i.e. would most likely have to walk on to DI schools I was interested in) and considering the experience I was looking for (a balance between academics and tennis), D3 tennis was a great fit.
Going on various D3 college visits helped solidify my thinking, and I’m grateful for all the coaches and teams I spoke with for showing me a day in the life as a student athlete and making sure recruits had a fantastic experience! (As an aside: when I spoke to Carol in person for the first time, she already knew that I’d been admitted but I had no idea yet as decisions came out for students that evening. So basically in our one-on-one Carol had to try not give anything away while I made comments like “on the off chance I get accepted” 😂)
Something you might not know about MIT: we have the largest D3 athletics program in the US (over 30 varsity sports), and about a quarter of students are varsity athletes! When I visited, my future teammates spoke enthusiastically about tennis, their studies, and the flexibility they had to prioritize either one as needed. At the time I also wasn’t sure if I wanted to study computer science or biology, and because you’re not admitted to a specific department at MIT, it’s easier to switch majors if you decide to do so. All of these contributed towards my decision to commit.
ASW: Wow! Coach Carol must be pretty good at keeping secrets! Based on how she talks about you, she was more than thrilled that you were admitted. Have you been able to continue playing tennis? Have you picked up any new hobbies?
VK: The hip injury that sidelined me the entirety of senior year persisted for quite a bit of time after graduating; those months’ worth of tennis mostly consisted of helping my mom practice (she was getting really into the adult leagues). I was able to properly rehab it when between jobs in 2017, and since then I’ve been hitting at least once every few weeks — either casual hits with teammates or playing league doubles with my mom (different than college tennis but fun enough).
Do tennis-related activities count as a new hobby? I’ve gotten a lot more into watching professional tennis, regularly following the season year-round and traveling to some events when before I mostly just followed the slams on TV. I’d always wanted to be a ballkid but never did so as a child. Meeting a mutual friend who does the US Open every year made me realize you can be an adult ballkid (ballperson)! I’ve worked a couple tournaments the past few years and it’s been an absolute blast. (You might have heard that an Amherst alum worked the women’s final at this year’s US Open! I’d love to try out for their ballperson program at some point.)
ASW: OK this is so cool and I’m so pumped to share your picture. How do you train to be a ballperson?
VK: Requirements to be a ballperson depend on the tournament! They may have an age minimum/maximum, require you to attend training sessions, and/or hold tryouts. The purpose of having ballkids on court is to speed up gameplay without disrupting it — so if no one notices you (other than other ballkids), you’re doing your job well. Playing tennis definitely helps with some skills like speed, agility, and scoring. A few other valuable skills that might be less apparent: being quiet on your feet. Being able to stay still for extended periods of time (harder than it looks). Being able to shake off mistakes (everyone makes them, but it feels magnified when it seems like thousands of people are watching you). Having good hands, situational awareness, and nonverbal communication. The fastest way to learn is of course to do so on the job.
The ballperson community is great! I’ve met new friends from doing so, and old friends have fun watching professional tennis with me running around behind the scenes. Once you’ve done it you start to watch matches with a whole different set of eyes; the battle between the players every point is followed by a flurry of movement by the ballkids.
ASW: What are your best and worst memories from your playing days?
VK: I have really positive feelings towards D3 tennis all around; many players have great sportsmanship and a vast majority of schools we play look forward to fierce competition and a good match. Your team is a big family! You celebrate accomplishments both on and off the court, listen to and support each other in ways both big and small, and take pride in seeing your teammates become incredible women. Both of these “bad” memories actually happened when I wasn’t able to play and were learning moments intertwined with some of the best college tennis memories I have.
Moment one: dealing with a hip injury all of senior year made me realize how important physical health is to your well-being. The only cardio I could manage without pain was swimming, and I did so either alone or with other friends/teammates. I basically did PT exercises during practice and spent half my time in the athletic training room. The hard part was the uncertainty; I didn’t get a proper diagnosis until after the season was over, and I wasn’t sure if I would need surgery as it didn’t seem to be improving for a while.
The year prior a teammate gave me some advice on being an injured player: there are ways to be as involved on the sidelines, you can define the way you want your season to go, and you can find your joy in cheering on others. So I put my all into supporting the team the best I could, and tried to set an example of having a positive mindset. Super thankful to everyone for making me feel as much a part of the team as I did when able to play!
Moment two: the day immediately after losing the NEWMAC finals senior year was tough (watching a big team match, somehow, is a lot harder emotionally than playing in one). It came with heightened emotions, big stakes (automatic NCAA entry), and an overwhelmingly lopsided crowd (we were the away match and lost 4-3 from 3-1 up).
I clearly remember that while I was still processing my frustration and sadness, my teammates were already writing thoughtful reflections— giving props to our opponents for fighting hard to get the win, shoutouts to each other, and expressing excitement for next season. I had so much respect for their attitudes and came out feeling really appreciative of the team and the memories we shared. That experience set the tone for the rest of the school year in a positive way, and we saw our hard work pay off with a spring break upset over Chicago, qualifying for NCAAs via Pool C, and making it to the Elite Eight for the first time!
A few other moments off the top of my head: the entire team being there when my younger sister found out she got accepted to MIT. Singing the national anthem with Amherst when the speakers broke. Some individual match highlights (Tufts in 2012, Middlebury @ 2013 NCAAs, dubs vs Williams @ 2013 NEWITTs). Storytelling sessions where we could choose to share a little piece of ourselves with the team. Trick-or-treating on Beacon Hill. Continuing the “seniors buy mochi ice cream” tradition and making waffled pizza during spring break. Finding out we’d made the Elite Eight, rushing to get some posters painted, and running across campus at 3 am in pajamas to greet the returning players.
ASW: You are making me miss MIT tennis and I didn’t even play there! Any good Coach Carol stories?
VK: I miss getting Carol’s emails! She sends out a seasonal newsletter for alumni & friends, but while on the team I enjoyed reading whatever was on her mind that week. Carol also did her undergrad at MIT and has basically been with the tennis team since then, so she can relate to the struggles students go through at school. I always felt like I could speak candidly about how I was doing during practices and our one-on-ones. It wasn’t until I became a co-captain for the team my junior year that I got a peek into the extensive work that Carol does behind the scenes. The responsibilities you have in actively building team culture and regularly checking in on everyone— Carol seems to know these by heart. Whether it’s facilitating a workshop on leadership that I still refer to, giving shoutouts to little positive things she notices teammates do, or helping create a space where people felt comfortable to be themselves, Carol is the one of the biggest champions and supporters of MIT women’s tennis. Even after graduating she continues to cheer us on!
I also can’t talk about MIT women’s tennis coaches without mentioning our current associate head coach, the wonderful Mason! He joined the staff at the same time I started my undergrad and remains a calming presence on the court, bringing valuable insight to the mental side of the game. One of my favorite team sessions Mason organized was on discussing factors that contributed to the outcome of a match and categorizing them based on what you can control. It’s an exercise applicable to a variety of life situations.
ASW: I heard that you recently visited MIT to give advice to the current players. What were some of the pearls from that visit?
VK: Props to Carol for inviting alums in town to practice and to share a bit of their perspective post-college! At the beginning of practice we discussed leading a balanced life at MIT and my own experience on the topic. I realized early on that my extracurriculars (tennis, dance) were important to me and made the decision to adjust my schedule around these activities (i.e. having an academic workload that wasn’t too overwhelming). While much of what was learned in classes has faded away, I look back at my time in college with a lot of fondness for the shows/matches watched/participated in and the people I met when doing so.
A couple other pieces of advice boiled down, on a similar theme: 1) Figure out what your boundaries are. It’s very common to burn out from trying to do too many things at once— work out what works for you! 2) If you find something that brings you joy, keep doing it.
ASW: That is excellent advice for everyone! Tell me about Asian Dance Team!
VK: MIT ADT is one of the three college performance groups I was a part of, the other two being DanceTroupe (end-of-semester showcase of a variety of dances) and NextAct (dorm-led musical theater production). All of these groups share some similarities: they are organized by students, accept all levels of experience, and are full of some extremely dedicated and talented people.
ADT worked out the best with my tennis schedule and ended up being the group I most consistently participated in every semester. I mostly did traditional Chinese dance pieces alongside people who actually had the training as well as people like me who had no experience. Here you could figure out how to move your body in a somewhat coordinated way, stumble around on stage, and spend countless late nights putting together a show with your friends/choreographers/fellow dancers cheering you on. There’s an electricity in the air that happens between the performers who put their heart and soul into the show and the audience who is just as enthusiastic and engaged. You get these magic moments that are hard to recreate.
The one thing you are consistently told leading up to showtime: even if you’re nervous and forget what you’re supposed to be doing, it doesn’t matter. You’re out there to have fun and bring the energy, so be confident and FACES (i.e. your face should show intensity + emotion) the entire time you’re on stage because you’re going to kill it. (I can’t help but draw parallels between rehearsals/shows and the way you support yourself and your teammates during practices/matches. Those magic moments happen in sport too, and tennis is special for being wildly loud one second and dead silent the next.)
ASW: FACES. I will remember that. Lastly, on a different note, what is your favorite bird? If you were a bird, which bird would you be?
VK: Did Carol tell you about my love of birds? 😂 My favorite is the California Scrub-Jay; they’re the west coast equivalent of the Blue Jay (different species, both jays that are blue) and highly inquisitive birds. You might see them grabbing some peanuts off a feeder or acting as sentry from the treetops.
As for which bird to be…tough question!! I’d be split between either some sort of corvid (crow, raven, jay) or raptor (hawk, eagle, owl). I see quite a few of these species at the wildlife rehabilitation center I volunteer at, and they’re definitely my favorites to work with.
ASW: No she didn’t tell me about your love of birds, I just guessed! So cool that you give your time to cool causes and are so in tune with nature!
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Ok, I admit it. I did have inside information that she likes birds.
Vynnie made so many good points that even though the interview is on the longer side, I didn’t feel the need to cut anything out. I hope the current MIT women’s players take advantage of the wisdom passed on by this fine young woman, and I hope the players who read our blog can also take her words to heart.
Which D3 celebrity should I talk to next?? I know I’ve said this a million times before but this is by far my favorite part of blogging. Mostly because I don’t have to do any of the work. Email me (d3asouthwomens@gmail.com) or @ me on twitter @d3asouthwomens.
We’ll be back next week with more “hot” takes. Until then, remember that The Analyst and NewCentral are endgame, despite what they may say.
-ASW
Thanks. Interesting read.