The last several years have been a juggling act for Emma Collings, whose educational experience at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School had led her to believe this skill, from a literal standpoint, is but a normal rite of passage.

            “We had this thing at ORRJH called ‘flex time,’ and the most popular one was Learning to Juggle with, I believe, Mr. (Gregory) Andree. A lot of people… from at least my couple of years of ORR (Junior High) know how to juggle, because we all took that (course) or at least knew how to juggle,” recalls Collings, now 26. “I love to use it when I’m coaching little kids on how to play tennis because that’s how they’ll really focus. You’ll say, ‘Hey, do your drill and I’ll juggle,’ and they get a big kick out of it.”

            Before the Marion native transferred to UMass Dartmouth and became a Little East Conference All-Star in tennis, she realized during Freshman Orientation at Worcester State that her juggling skills were not as common as she had assumed.

            “They had us all in the auditorium doing a bunch of different, crazy things to break the ice and get us all to be friends … and they asked, ‘and can anyone in here juggle?’” explained Collings. “If you ask at an ORR assembly, probably more than half of everyone would raise their hand, so I didn’t really think about it. And then I put my hand up and I look around, I’m the only person with my hand up, so I instantly shoot it down. And then they’re like, ‘Nope, saw that.’

            “I had to get up in front of my entire freshman class and juggle… When we had to stay the night for Freshman Orientation, it was really cool because, when I was walking around the campus, all the other Freshmen Orientation people were like, ‘Juggle Girl!’ I was able to make a bunch of friends.”

            Collings’ ability to cycle three tennis balls through the air only provides a window to her world of multitasking.

            Collings wasn’t a tennis kid per se, but she learned tennis fundamentals with now-retired teaching pro Chick Renfrew. Having played softball as a younger child before picking up volleyball and basketball at ORR, she eventually emerged as one of coach Bob Hohne’s go-to doubles players, first with the junior varsity, then the varsity.

            Although she had been recruited by UMass Dartmouth Coach Doug Chapman, she found the North Dartmouth campus to be “too close to home.”

            The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted Collings’ tennis career at Worcester State, but insult was added to the injury when the program was cut in the wake of the pandemic in 2021. Even before that development, Collings had detected a noticeable lack of support for the tennis program.

            With a Master’s Degree in Business Administration to complete, Collings wasn’t sure how receptive UMass Dartmouth would be when she messaged Chapman in April 2024 with a pitch to cash in on at least one of her remaining two years of tennis eligibility.

            “How am I going to sell myself? I’m probably going to have to miss some stuff,” she recalled. “I show up in that mode of selling myself, and he’s selling me on the team. I didn’t have to sell myself at all. He was so excited.”

            The difference in the quality of Collings’ student-athlete experience was night and day.

            Not only were the Corsairs were thrilled to have her, the school’s support of her goals helped her through the three-pronged grind of job, school and sport. Collings had to get her full-time accounting job with lifestyle brand Oofos to agree to tweaking her nine-to-five schedule to a 7:00 am start and 3:00 pm escape so she could commit to the UMD tennis program.

            “Waking up, working, shooting straight over to UMass every day… match… class… pretty rough,” as she described it.

            What kept her energized was a meaningful role on the team and an encouraging camaraderie.

            In the fall of 2024, Collings played third (out of six) singles and on the second (out of three) doubles team, putting up the Corsairs’ best singles record (9-3) and second best in doubles (8-4). As a capper to the 2024-25 academic year, Collings earned a spot on the 2024 All-Little East Conference Second Team – Doubles and spots on the LEC Fall Academic Team and Fall Academic Honor Roll.

            Her strength as a tennis player? A surprisingly quick service motion, a flat delivery that hits the corner of the box and skids low and away from unsuspecting opponents, regardless of their athletic ability.

            “I have a very, very, very low toss, I get quite a few aces,” she said, “between the power, the quickness and the change of pace.”

            That, and Collings has a knack for getting her racquet on attacking shots, deadening the pace and challenging the nerve of aggressive opponents looking for a put-away shot. At 5-foot-11, Collings is an especially good doubles player because she excels at upsetting the opponents’ chemistry.

            “I’m big on shooting alleys … waiting for that fumble when they move a little too early,” she said. “I love hitting that corner, I love breaking down their communication a little bit. … Mental warfare – get them a little frustrated, get them a little off memo. It’s always great when you’re playing against a team that’s more technically better.”

            Collings’ quirky approach toward tennis makes her an approachable mentor for many Division 3 players. She uses an old Wilson Steam model racquet popular when the Williams sisters were in their 20s and does not use a dampening device in her strings.

            “Typically, I’m basing how I hit the ball on the sound … I’m usually watching my opponent (for reaction),” she says. “I’ve never broken a set of strings. I get them changed very infrequently, maybe once a year. Typically, I’ll get all my racquets done at the same time.”

            Many Division 3 players can hit the ball well especially off pace, but not as many are able to make their skills pay off under the stress of competition. Collings’ skills, especially in the latter case, have made her a tough out for more conventional college players.

            “Being (age) 25 on the court and giving my elder advice to my teammates … the team calls me Grandma half the time,” Collings says with a smile, thinking about her parents Chris’ and Kathryn’s nearly perfect attendance at her matches and one opponent’s admiration. “The girl I was playing said, ‘is that your parents?’ And I say, ‘can you believe I’m 25 and they’re still here?’”

            It also caught Collings’ attention that UMass Dartmouth women’s tennis matches are routinely attended by Director of Athletics Lori Hendricks and Associate Director of Athletics (NCAA Compliance and Programming) Amanda Van Voorhis.

            “It was just a welcome surprise from Doug and from Peter (Holt, assistant coach) and Amanda and Lori,” said Collings. “I think I saw them at every single home match. It was amazing to see that level of commitment.”

            Collings noted the boost that UMD student-athletes get from the school’s annual Arnies awards celebrating their accomplishments.

            Thanks to Chapman’s attention to detail, the Corsairs feel the support of their institution even as they take the court for a match, pouring out a new can of tennis balls, each adorned with the official Corsair logo.

            It was ironically through a missed academic assignment and how administration supported Collings’ extraordinary effort to fulfill her obligations both on the court and in the classroom that cemented UMass Dartmouth as “truly the best place to finish my collegiate tennis career.”

            Collings’ evolving juggling act could theoretically include one more year of varsity tennis, but with her MBA finished she doesn’t think it’s in the cards. Collings needs one more course to qualify for her Certified Public Accountant license but would need to take three classes to become eligible for sports in the fall. She has changed jobs and, with two summers under her belt teaching tennis for the Marion Recreation Department, along with private and group lessons, is showing signs of an interest in a coaching career.

            “If I’m still living in the area next fall, I will be helping (at UMass). I hope to continue doing that on a bigger scale, but my accounting career does take first priority,” she said.

            Collings’ accomplishments were celebrated by Chapman on a Facebook post he wrote on May 17 for her 26th birthday.

            “Happy 26th birthday to UMass Dartmouth Corsairs Women’s Tennis co-captain Emma Collings, who truly embodies what being a NCAA Division 3 student-athlete is all about. Emma led the Corsairs in singles and doubles victories and was selected to the Little East Conference all-star team. She did this while being a full-time MBA student (4.0 average) and earning numerous all-academic honors. If that was not enough, she did that while also working full-time as an accountant for Oofos. She made multitasking seem like a snap and is proof you can manage your time and accomplish your goals if you put your mind to it.”

            “Definitely a lot of stars had to be aligned to make that work, and I appreciate everyone to make it work,” said Collings, who never took her juggling act to the service line, though an opponent might find that a little intimidating. She has a boyfriend, too, but she has never taught herself to juggle four tennis balls, stopping at three like the number of balls in circulation during her collegiate matches.

            “I haven’t really practiced to try to get to four. I think I could if I wanted to, but I just kind of do my basic little (routine),” she said. “Three, that’s my max.”

By Mick Colageo