SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- It was the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and freshman Lily Pradkin and her partner, senior Lucy Lu, were set to face 39th-ranked Rice University in a doubles match. The teamwork was like clockwork. Right away, they worked to set each other up and play to their strengths, finishing the doubles match with a 6-1 victory.

The Gauchos went on to win the doubles point, helping secure a 4-3 victory over Rice and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Since it was her rookie season, Pradkin felt some nerves, but she also trusted the foundation she and her doubles partner had built throughout the year.

"The first returning game, Lucy went line, right off the start. Which, for me, kind of inspires me a bit. I'm like, 'Ok yeah, like let's go for it,'" Pradkin said. There was a no-regrets mindset to this match, and accompanied by their intense yet strategic approaches to playing, they quickly swept their opponents.

While definitely new to this level of tennis, Pradkin still had an extensive background, having completed high school online while simultaneously attending the Gomez Tennis Academy in Naples, Florida, for the past four years. The Southern California native couldn't stay on the East Coast forever, though, as she committed to UC Santa Barbara to start her collegiate career.

Those first few months at UCSB were spent learning how to compete at the collegiate level and adjust to playing in a team. What she didn't expect to learn, however, was how to recover from injury. By the end of her first fall, she had broken three of her ribs and couldn't do anything tennis-related for over two months.

After winter break, she came back to begin rehab, and only three weeks later, she was back to play her first doubles match against LSU, who went on to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament later that season, in San Diego. By this point, she was fully recovered and reflected on how quickly she recovered.

"It was also super wild, how your body learns because when I first started the rehab, I couldn't do anything," Pradkin said. "I could only go to my elbows, everything hurt so much, but then after doing it in one session — like 3 sets of that — the improvement I had on every rehab was insane."

She also contributed her progress due to her eagerness to get back on the courts and play again. Once she came back, she learned not to take playing for granted, embracing even the tough moments and shifting her focus to standards instead of outside expectations.

"You can have a standard, but that's different than an expectation of the result; you can't think like that," Pradkin said. "You have to take it for what each moment is and do your best."

Learning, Adapting, and Embracing Every Moment

Not only was recovering from injury a new challenge, but so was adjusting from playing solo at the academy to competing on a college team, where there were far more factors than just her and the ball.

"But in college tennis, it's how you're acting on the court, how your opponent's acting on the court, the ref, the coaches – your coaches, their coaches, the crowd, your teammates. I feel there are all these other factors that contribute to the result."

Pradkin experienced a lot during her rookie season, especially when it came to the many successes she had with multiple doubles partners. She believed the best doubles strategy was all about positioning and moving together to set each other up with shots they were the strongest in.

Pradkin and Lu proved to be a phenomenal pair, not only succeeding in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but also finishing the season with an 11-6 record. Pradkin added that Lu's volleys were a major strength, and she would adjust to this by being at the net and setting her up to get the volleys she wanted.

"If I could hit one good, solid ball, deep, they'd probably hit a not great one, and Lu would be all over it and putting it away basically every time," Pradkin said. Their success stemmed from balance, and as a freshman paired with a seasoned senior, Pradkin gained invaluable experience.

"I think it helped keep me accountable," Pradkin said. " I embraced it and was like, I can't miss. I'm not going to miss." This partnership inspired her throughout her freshman year, and another big moment was her singles match win, where she clinched against TCU.

Not only did Pradkin help secure the doubles point alongside Lu with a 7-5 victory, but she also staged a comeback in singles, bouncing back from a 1-6 first set to take the next two, 6-1, 6-2.

This was also one of the highly promoted matches of the season, so many people were there, and everyone began walking to Court 5, where Pradkin faced her opponent. "I didn't even realize that I was clinching," Pradkin said. "I saw all these people come over, and I'm like, 'What is everyone doing here? Why does everyone care about 5 and 6 suddenly?"

She couldn't see the score from the court. Turning to former assistant coach Maggie Kane, she asked, "Did we win?" They both erupted in cheers, grinning from ear to ear. She reflected on how discipline like this was crucial for clinching matches and how she first learned this at the academy.

She has experienced so many memorable moments in her rookie year and looks forward to this upcoming season with a team of fresh faces. "I'm excited that whatever we create this year, it'll be reinforced for next year, like everything we learn right now can be carried over and made even better next year," Pradkin said.

Beyond the scores, that doubles win against Rice gave her a confidence boost and instilled a no-regret mindset that has carried into her sophomore year. She wants to leave matches without regretting any mistakes. "I want to be looking back and be ok with [these mistakes]," Pradkin said.

Her first year was packed with lessons and growth, and she's trying to focus on the process rather than the outcome, taking each match as it comes, win or lose.

"If I'm losing, if I'm winning, I just go with what I have and then try to do what I can and only focus on what I can control, which isn't the result, it's what I do to get the result," Pradkin said.