Harrison tennis captain Emma Gu prepares for transition to Navy
WEST LAFAYETTE — Harrison senior tennis player Emma Gu has found joy in trying different things as her high school career winds down before joining the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Tennis still be part of it but right now, Gu is soaking up every last experience she can find at Harrison with the state regionals coming up after the Raiders beat Benton Central 4-1 in the IHSAA Sectional tournament.
"I've just been focusing on making myself happy and proving myself," Gu said.
One of the ways Gu has stoked her competitive fire is by trying sports outside of tennis. Gu is running track in addition to playing tennis this spring and ran cross country in the fall.
Gu even challenged herself to run a half marathon with her club tennis doubles partner Molly Bellia of St. Joseph in South Bend, who is also committed to the Naval Academy.
Running cross country and track could be helping Gu as she prepares for the daily physical regimen at Navy.
"It's unique because of the conditioning you do outside of athletics," Gu said. "I wouldn't say the athletics is necessarily harder but I think it's coupled with everything else that makes Navy challenging."
Gu is ready to handle the challenges of Navy with her older brother Aaron having been a member of the tennis team. Aaron wrote a letter to Emma, telling her to do pushups as she transitions to Navy.
The new challenge that awaits Gu is what makes going to Navy exhilarating. She is a multiple time sectional champion and one of the top ranked tennis players in Indiana.
As a student at Harrison, Gu is widely recognized by coaches, administrators and her peers for her leadership in the classroom.
Now those leaderships get to be put to the test when making the trip from Lafayette to Annapolis and begin the next phase of her life.
"The main thing that caught me was the caliber of people and how hard everyone works," Gu said. "The people who go to military academies want to be part of something bigger. Everyone is working toward the same goal and everyone is respectful. You go there and learn how to be a student athlete which is valuable."
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@gannett.com, on Twitter at EthanAHansonand Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Harrison tennis captain Emma Gu prepares for transition to Navy
