Wednesday, Nov. 13 was National Letter of Intent Signing Day for high school athletes around the country. Westside had four seniors sign with colleges. This is a continuation of the ongoing Wired series of features of these athletes. 

Mckinney Harwood wasn’t sure if she was going to play tennis in college. The senior, who has been on varsity since her freshman year and won state at No. 1 doubles her sophomore year, didn’t want to focus too much time on tennis, and wanted a taste of everything in college. Then she found Christopher Newport University (CNU), a Division III liberal arts university in Virginia.

“At first I didn’t really want to play tennis, but [CNU] was [one of the only] schools I contacted to play tennis,” Harwood said. “Looking at a bunch of other schools, like big schools, I felt like [it] had a lot more to offer for me.”

One of the things the school has to offer for Harwood is something in the classroom rather than on the court.

“My favorite thing probably – what I’m doing — is they have a leadership program which when you graduate you’ll have a minor in leadership, and so you do a lot of internships and learn about leadership,” Harwood said.

Within the team, Harwood is happy with the coaches at CNU.

“They were really good about letting me do other things besides tennis,” Harwood said. “I can be involved in other things on campus and it’s not just about tennis. They were really positive and really into it. They are trying to really build the program.”

In addition to the coaches, CNU offers excellent athletic buildings.

“The tennis facilities — the outdoor courts are pretty nice,” Harwood said. “The indoor facility they are tearing down in a couple months before I get there and they are redoing it. It’s supposed to be super, super nice.”

Harwood will have the opportunity to be one of the top players for CNU, even next year.

Our first story was about Jake Meyers going to UNL for baseball. The series will continue tomorrow.