Senior tennis star Megan Humphreys didn’t even know she set the UW-Whitewater school record for career singles and
doubles victories.
It was assistant coach Bryon Balkin who had let her know that she had passed Alexandra Bayliss with 215 career victories after winning the only match the women’s tennis team won against the University of Chicago on April 15 in St.
Louis, Missouri.
“When I heard the news, I was pretty excited,” Humphreys said. “I didn’t really know I was anywhere close … I don’t know how they found out before I did, but they must keep track of
that stuff.”
The six time All American (four singles honors, two from doubles) said she began playing tennis when she was eight or nine years old but remembers loving it from an early age.
Her brother Jake was the top player in the men’s tennis program before his graduation last year, and Megan says they were very competitive growing up to further fuel the passion for the sport.
“He’s been someone I have looked up to my whole life,” Humphreys said. “He is a phenomenal tennis player. I think watching him succeed, drove me to want to accomplish what he did. We are competitive, but we have fun with it though … We will crack some jokes, talk some smack to make it fun, but at the end of the day, no one is ever upset.”
Humphreys head coach Frank Barnes has nominated her for multiple awards and shared what he wrote after sweeping the ITA regional singles title for her fourth straight year.
“I’ve never heard of anyone from any region in any division accomplishing that,” Barnes said.
Humphreys began her successful career at UW-W playing a more defensive style of play before learning how to play more aggressively.
“I think overall how much tennis I was playing, I just slowly started getting more comfortable with the offensive style,” Humphreys said. “It’s really hard to play a ton of matches defensively because you are running around the whole time. If you can mix in some offense, it makes the points end a lot quicker and [you’re able to] beat some of the top players.”
And beat some of the top players Humphreys has in her four-year career. She has led the Warhawks to WIAC titles all four years of her career, leading the team to Sweet 16 appearances in 2015 and 2016.
Humphreys has also placed in the top five all four years at the ITA small college national event, taking second in 2014, as well as a fourth-place doubles finish in 2014. She has also qualified for the NCAA tournament multiple times as well.
“Megan Humphreys has been the face of our tennis program for the past four years and has represented UW-Whitewater with the utmost class her entire career,” Barnes wrote. “She will graduate … as the most decorated tennis player in school and WIAC history.”
Humphreys will finish school in December with goals to be an elementary or middle school teacher in Illinois or Wisconsin after being on the dean’s list, WIAC scholastic honor roll and ITA Scholar Athlete each year
in school.
The team captain her junior and senior years, Humphreys has been named to the WIAC All-Sportsmanship team the past two years as well as being nationally honored by the ITA with the James O’hara Sargent Sportsmanship Award.
Through it all, Humphreys says she will have a hard time leaving tennis behind once this season is over.
“Being able to play a sport, I think it has helped me a lot as a person,” Humphreys said. “It teaches you a lot of life lessons. … It’s going to be hard not playing. It’s going to be weird because I have been playing since I was eight or nine. It’s taught me a lot, and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life.”
No matter where Humphreys goes for her next chapter, her name will forever be inscribed into UW-Whitewater record books.