West Virginia State University Athletics

By: James Garcia, Sports Information Director

INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Women's tennis player Kierstin Hensley (Ashland, Ky./Russell) was poised for a record-setting senior season before it was devastatingly cut short by concerns over COVID-19. She was ranked No. 12 in Division II women's singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) at the start of the season. 

This was the highest-ever individual ranking achieved by a women's tennis player from the Mountain East Conference (MEC). She's not one to be concerned with individual achievements, however. Hensley always put the team's interests before her own as she developed into one of West Virginia State's finest women's tennis players.  

Head Coach John Simms had an eye on Hensley long before she was even thinking about college. He recruited her sister, Kelsey, who is five years older than Kierstin. Kelsey ultimately decided to go to the University of Charleston to pursue a Nursing degree so expectations were that Kierstin would follow in her sister's footsteps. Kierstin defied expectations by making the choice to attend West Virginia State University and become a Yellow Jacket.

"Kelsey brought Kierstin to my attention the summer before Kierstin's senior year in high school," Simms said. "I went to watch her play a couple of times that summer and fall and invited her to visit."

Kierstin said that she made up her mind after her first visit to West Virginia State's campus:

"I got to hit with the No. 1 at the time, Brittany Franco. We played four games and she beat me 4-0, but they were all really close...I thought the campus was beautiful and I fell in love with it....After I met with Coach Simms and the girls, I knew where I wanted to go."

Simms knew he was getting a great doubles player when he recruited Hensley. She had won the Kentucky State Doubles title as a junior in high school, a feat she would later repeat as a senior, but he was unsure how she would shake out as a singles player. After just a few minutes of watching her hit with Franco, any doubt of her skill as a singles player was put to rest and he offered her a full scholarship on the spot. 

"Something about Kierstin made me believe in her," Simms said. "I just knew she was going to be a great player for us and a great team member. I put my faith in her that day and she has never let me down."

Hensley joined a WVSU squad in 2016 that featured MEC Freshman of the Year Laura Isbey. Hensley attributes much of her development as a singles player to being able to learn from and train with Isbey throughout their three years as teammates at West Virginia State.

"I got to watch her play and I learned a lot from her, the way that she competes and the kind of shots that she would use," said Hensley. "And even playing against her, I had to come up with different kinds of shots to use against her because she was such a good player. I think she really pushed me to be the best that I could be in my singles game."

Hensley's decision to play at West Virginia State and essentially become an understudy to the MEC Freshman of the Year and later two-time MEC Player of the Year Laura Isbey paid dividends towards her singles game. Hensley was named First Team All-MEC and ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year following her freshman campaign. She continued her success during her sophomore year and was selected First Team All-MEC once again. Albeit, her junior season was when she really came into her own.

Hensley went back and forth with Isbey between the No. 1 and No. 2 slots on the team throughout their time together. In her junior year, Hensley finally solidified herself as the No. 1 after taking on a leadership position within the squad. 

"One day, after practice, the topic of playing No. 1 came up," Simms recalled. "For the first time Kierstin stepped up and said she wanted the position. That was all I had been waiting for, I knew she was ready to lead the team."

She was timid at first about taking on the responsibility, but her teammates gave her the confidence that she needed to make the step up.

"I was afraid that if I lost the match at No. 1, the girls might not think that I should be the team leader. But as soon as I started playing those matches at No. 1, I really got a lot of respect from everybody because they kept telling me that they believed that I could beat anybody. I give my team the credit for giving me the confidence I needed to play at No. 1."

At the conclusion of her junior year, Hensley was chosen First Team All-MEC for the third consecutive year and  tabbed as the ITA Atlantic Region Player to Watch. She was on track to break numerous school records during her senior season.

"I was planning to order her plaques for most singles wins, most doubles wins, and most overall wins when we got back from spring break," Simms said. "I was really looking forward to putting up a sign on our courts for Kierstin as the school's first All-American in women's tennis." 

Even though she had many individual milestones to achieve, Hensley was most looking forward to working with the new group of girls on the team this year.

"This was such a good group of girls, in terms of talent and how we got along with each other. I was really looking forward to watching them play and develop over the semester...I wanted to finish my last year by winning the conference and going to nationals again." 

Looking back, Hensley's greatest memory of her career thus far was winning the conference in her junior season. 

"We had lost to UC during the regular season, 5-2, which was pretty hard on us. And then we came back to beat them, 4-1, and I had the clinching match for that one...That was one of the best wins because it was for my team."

The match was meant to be played at the Brian David Fox Tennis Center, an outdoor facility, at Marshall University. Rain poured down that Friday afternoon in May, however, and delayed the start of the MEC Championship by nine hours. The championship match was also forced to move to the Charleston YMCA due to water flooding the indoor courts in Huntington. To be able to persevere through the chaos of the day and then be able to defeat Kristine Gegeshidze (6-1, 7-5), who she lost to earlier in the season, to clinch the MEC Championship for her team was pure redemption.

When asked about what tennis meant to her personally, Hensley gave the following reply:

"Tennis has always been a big part of my life. I've played tennis ever since I was four years old. Honestly, I don't know if I would've gone to college had it not been for tennis. It's brought me so many new experiences and allowed me to meet so many new people. 

"Tennis will always be a big part of my life, whether I'm playing or coaching. I'll always be a part of some type of tennis community in my life.  

"I'm very grateful to Coach Simms for making sure I'm always having fun with it. I know a lot of college tennis players get burnt out after their playing careers are over so I'm grateful to him for the four years that he's given me."

After being granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA, Hensley will have to decide whether or not she will return next year. Before her plans were derailed by the Coronavirus Pandemic, she was set to marry her longtime boyfriend in June and attend Shawnee State University to pursue a Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy. She hasn't quite made up her mind about what she will do yet. 

"I'm still weighing my options. I'm going to do what's best for me and for my future husband so whatever the decision for that is, I'm going to take that decision."

Regardless of what decision she and her fiance come to, Hensley is still deeply invested in the future of her teammates and WVSU Women's Tennis. She passed along this message to them:

"Make sure you continue what we worked so hard for. Keep competing and teach the girls that are younger than you what we're all about. I love you all and I'm super grateful for all of the memories over the years."