Women's Tennis Captain Christine Bader:
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Oct. 26, 2006
It might be cliché to call a student at Michigan State a Spartan for life, but in this case it fits perfectly. Christine Bader is a Spartan, through and through.
The junior from Okemos, Mich., has been a part of Spartan athletics since the age of three, when her father, Richard Bader, was named the head coach of the MSU men's swim team. Richard, who has been a part of the University since 1989, is currently the Director of Men's Basketball Operations. As Christine says, becoming involved at such a young age has proved to be advantageous.
"I've always loved the Spartan family atmosphere. Considering that my dad works here, I fit right into the picture. He and my mom are my biggest fans, and just having been here made the transition so much easier. I know everybody in the athletic department because of my dad, and I like knowing everyone. Everyone cares."
Growing up could have been stressful given the highs and lows of college sports, but as she describes it, it was "pretty cool." Having a collegiate head coach in her family served as a motivator and gave her the winning mentality necessary to be a successful athlete.
"My dad was a champion swimmer at Clemson, so I've always wanted to be in college athletics because of him," said Bader. "My mom was a golfer; she helps with the whole mental aspect while my dad is the physical, endurance-man. I go running with my dad, and we try to keep each other motivated."
Growing up surrounded by swimming, one would think that Bader's sport choice would have been the obvious. This wasn't the case.
"My mom's parents had a tennis court in their backyard. When I was three, they would go out and feed me balls, and I would play with my parents." She added laughingly, "I started young."
Playing at such a young age has turned out to be beneficial for Bader. She had a strong start to her junior campaign this fall, with an invitation to compete in singles and doubles at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championship. As a sophomore, she was named First Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Player of the Week, and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Her appearance on the All-Big Ten team was the first since 1993, when Alicia Leone earned a spot on the team.
"I was really surprised, and I could tell how proud my parents were of me," said Bader. "It was just awesome. With everything that we had worked for last year, it was a nice surprise.
"It gave me more confidence, and it just proves that with hard work you can do anything. Hopefully it shows off the team too. I worked really hard, and everybody this year is working hard, and we all want the same thing."
That confidence helped lead her to a final record of 13-10 at the No. 1 singles spot and a 10-13 record at the No. 1 doubles spot, paired with Sarah Andrews.
Bader is one of four upperclassmen on this year's team, and is the lone junior on the roster. The Spartans compiled a 14-9 total record last season, which is an impressive number considering the overall youth of the team.
"Last year was a growing year, and we did awesome," said Bader. "To know that we have the same team this year, or a better team this year, that's helped us even more. Hopefully this year we can keep it up; especially with (first-year head coach) Erica (Perkins) and (assistant coach) Stefan (Naughton), all of us are going to get so much better.
"This year, we have so much more support, too. We had so many people come to our community mixer--it was great."
This spring, Bader looks to lead the Spartans to another successful season, and live out her legacy as a Spartan for life.
By Sports Information Student Assistant Bob Healy
Players Mentioned
