Hannah Berner is used to change.

Ever since moving from a tennis academy in Florida to a high school in New York, where she played on the boy’s tennis team, she has learned how to take on challenges with a competitive edge. This was on display last weekend at the Duke Invitational in Cary, N.C., where after losing her first set (6-0), she won in consecutive sets (6-2, 6-2) to win the match.

Berner rallied and overpowered her opponent, Taylor Marable of Princeton, to earn the victory. She had Wisconsin’s best singles performance in the tournament, placing sixth in her section. But the sophomore’s impressive play was not limited to singles either. Berner and her partner Alaina Trgovich placed third in their doubles section.

“One of the reasons that my coach, Brian Fleishman, recruited me was for my doubles play, because I love volleying against the net, although singles has always been a bit difficult for me,” Berner said.

Berner has worked hard over the off-season at mastering the nuances and positioning of singles play, and now says that it’s just as strong as her doubles play. Fleishman, the head women’s tennis coach at UW, praised Burner’s performance

“I thought she did an extremely good job in singles and doubles,” Fleishman said. “She’s come a long way, and I think all the hard work she put in this summer has really paid off.”

Berner has more goals for herself than just playing well individually, as she wants to emerge as a leader for her team.

“I think I’ve changed my position on the team, in terms of being more of a leader my sophomore year,” she said. “As a freshman, I was still a little confused and a little lost on how the whole team atmosphere works.”

One of the more promising aspects of Berner’s game is her ability to settle in and evaluate her opponent’s style. Much of tennis involves understanding your opponent and playing against their weaknesses. To understand how Berner does this so well, a brief glimpse at her past may help.

She played and excelled as a teenager at a tennis academy in Florida, where she attempted to go pro. However, she decided to leave Florida for New York, where she would play on the boy’s high school tennis team, because there was no girls team there.

“When I was in Florida, I was playing tennis for six hours a day, and that became extremely intense for a 14, 15, 16 year old. I think I kind of lost a little bit of passion for the game,” Berner said.

Berner said that her experiences have given her a greater perspective on balance in life. This perspective has enabled her to balance academics with collegiate athletics. “I cannot stress enough how much stress it is to keep up,” Berner said.

It’s especially difficult, because she says that the UW women’s tennis team is one of the hardest working teams in the nation. And with four freshmen coming on to the team this year, fierce competition is in place just to get a spot playing in tournaments.

Despite finishing ninth in the Big Ten last year, Berner believes that the new recruits and new attitude could make UW a top team in the conference.

“I think that the new recruits could be what pushes us over, and we’re gonna try to be in the top four of the Big Ten. That’s our goal,” she said.