He sends the tennis ball soaring through the air at the impressive speed of 115mph, as he slices his spin serve at the start of every match. Decked out in his blue and yellow uniform, representing UCLA, the tennis player continues on to win his match 6-0, thus completing the set.
This tennis player is former PHS senior Mackie McDonald, who is attending UCLA in the fall of 2013.
McDonald said that he decided on UCLA for many reasons, his sister, dad, uncle, and grandpa went there and he is very close to the tennis team.
“It’s a highly ranked school for tennis, and I thought I would have the best chance to be a professional if I surround myself where a lot of them are, which is in LA,” McDonald said.
The three schools he was debating between were USC, Stanford, and UCLA.
“I would have gone to Stanford if I went for academic reasons but I wanted to go with the mentality of getting better at tennis and shooting for pros,” McDonald said.
Although USC is ranked as first in the country, he feels much closer to the UCLA team.
“I feel there is more opportunity, and definitely see a shot at winning a NCAA championship,” McDonald said.
He plans on going pro in the future but he does not want to rush into things,
“I plan on going pro in the future, but it will choose me. I am not trying to rush into being a pro. When I am ready, I am ready. At college I plan to get bigger and better, work hard and keep a professional mentality and work ethic,” he said.
McDonald said he is most looking forward to the experience of being able to represent a prestigious college at a sport. He is also looking forward to being away from home in Los Angeles, and making new friends.
“I am coming in with three other Californians that I have grown up playing with. My sister is here and I’m very happy we can be at the same school competing. She is on the gymnastics team,” McDonald said.
Until the fall of 2013, McDonald will be training back and forth between Berkeley and Los Angeles.
“I will be playing some professional and junior international tournaments until then. I will play all four junior grand slams this upcoming year,” McDonald said.
