KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Two years before she arrived on campus, Kutztown University women's tennis senior Alicia Pursell (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) had realistic plans to pursue other sports in college. She was a basketball and soccer player, but injuries spoiled those plans and shifted her focus to another sport, tennis, which she only just picked up that year.
 
"I only started playing tennis my junior year of high school when I was told I wasn't allowed to play soccer anymore," said Pursell. "I needed something to keep me busy and in shape for basketball season. I played many different sports over the years and thought at that point it would be fun to try something new. I ended up falling in love with the sport. I liked how in singles, it was all on you. If I had to choose between singles or doubles, I would pick doubles because I loved being at the net. I loved volleying the most and being able to put the ball away. Since I started at KU, my serves were not that good. I can truly say, this past fall and spring, I was very happy on how far I have come to really improve them."
 
Tennis was not only fun to play and helped her with her college resume, but it was also an outlet to escape from the real world for a couple of hours and all that life may bring.
 
"This past fall, tennis really became my safety net and a way for me to escape what was going on in my life for a few hours," Pursell said. "Towards the beginning of the fall semester my family and I found out that my grandmother had stage four pancreatic and liver cancer. I moved in to take care of her around school, work and tennis. She passed away a month before the end of the semester, so to keep busy tennis was there. I can't thank coach Shari [Bucklin-Webber] enough, because through this whole thing, she was always there when I needed someone to talk to. She helped me grow as a person and taught me a lot in the last four years."
 
Throughout her four-year career, Pursell won 11 singles matches and nine doubles matches, finishing with 20 wins overall. But one win meant the most to the Hamburg native, and it wasn't an individual result.
 
"I am really happy that we were able to finish the season with a win," said Pursell on KU's 4-3 victory over Edinboro on March 11. "I think it would have been harder to handle if we did not win a match this spring. I am very happy on how hard we worked as a team in the little time we had this season."
 
The Golden Bears' spring season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after competing in four matches at the PTR Spring Tennis Fest in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Pursell was the lone senior on the women's team, while Benjamin Kelly and Josh Carl represented the seniors on the men's team.
 
"I was very upset because I knew it would be the last time I would be able to play tennis for KU since I am graduating in May," said Pursell. "What hurt the most was that we only got to play four matches as a team in South Carolina for the spring."
 
Growing up locally, Pursell had an interest in Kutztown University far before stepping foot on campus as a prospective student. Like most KU student-athletes, Pursell is supportive of all of the athletics teams and athletes. She is seen at numerous events around campus including home men's and women's basketball games with her parents.
 
Pursell is set to graduate in May with a degree in business administration/accounting. She is a Dean's List member and the 2019-20 team MVP.