Tennis' Wild sisters aim towards OVC Championship

Girls gone Wild.

Wild Things.
 
Morehead State tennis players Hayley Wild and Lindsey Wild have heard all the one-liners.
 
Hayley, a junior, says that she doesn't particularly care for such monikers, but she laughs them off and keeps her focus on tennis and school.
 
The sisters, from Carmel, Ind., are the only Americans on the MSU women's roster. Teammates hail from far and wide – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Chile, Croatia, Japan and Serbia.
 
"I really enjoy it because there's just a mix of different cultures," Hayley said. "It's really interesting, because now I learn a bunch of new languages, so it's pretty fun."
 
Hayley's favorite new phrase is how to say "come on!" in Yugoslavian – phonetically close to "aye-da-bray."
 
Lindsey likes taking in the cultural differences, too, even when there's little to say.
 
"I like how sometimes when people don't know what to say, there's a silence," Lindsey said. "And I feel like that silence is better than just filling it with words. … It's a good learning experience for Hayley and I to have all international teammates. Because we learn so many little things about the culture of all our teammates."
 
The eldest of the three-sister Wild family, Courtney, plays for Ball State.

Hayley, a general business major, says she was "probably like three to four" when she took up tennis.
 
"Our parents were really big in tennis, too," Hayley said. "My mom (Shelley) went to (play at) Purdue, actually. And our whole family's pretty much a tennis family. So, ever since we were young (father Andy) put up a tennis ball in our basement, with a string, and we would just hit it."
 
Hayley is off to a 3-4 start this season, playing in the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 singles spots. Playing with Zina Mehikic, she is 0-5 at No. 2 doubles, with two unfinished matches.
 
As a sophomore, Hayley led MSU with a 19-9 singles record, including 9-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. She finished 16-7 in doubles, including 5-1 in the OVC.
 
"She has been, over her first two years of her career here, just an OVC killer," Coach Kevin Fulton said. "She knows how to compete and win. … I've said this many, many times: that if we had a match that was tied and it came down to one player, she's always the girl that I want out there."
 
What does she do best on the court?
 
"I'm pretty much known for just mixing it up," Hayley said. "I just hit a really big lob and then just come to the net, and everyone's kind of confused about it. So it's not a normal playing style."
 
She says she has room to improve on her serve, in particular her second serve.
 
A tough early non-conference schedule that includes the likes of Indiana, Louisville and Marshall has not discouraged Hayley's hopes for the team. MSU will open league play March 18 against Murray State.
 
"I really want to win the OVC this year, and I think they have the potential to do it," Hayley said. "I think we just need to work a little bit better as a team and have some more confidence in ourselves. … Once we get to the OVC, I think we're really going to kill it."
 
Lindsey, who plans to major in English, is 0-7 at No. 6 singles and the same at No. 3 doubles.
 
"I think I serve the best," she said when asked what her strong point is. "And then my forehands. I just go down the lines. … I like shorter points."
 
She says she needs to work on positioning and consistency.
 
She's playing catch up this season, as she did not play her junior and senior seasons of high school. A case of burnout?
 
"I just kind of would see my sisters play," Lindsey said. "I always just kind of watched them play. … But now I am."
 
Fulton says that Lindsey is equally as talented as Hayley. She just needs to gain experience.
 
"The best is yet to come for Lindsey," the coach said. "Her best attribute is her work ethic. She works tirelessly on the court, puts a lot of time in on it."
 
With help from the sisters, Fulton thinks this could be a Wild and crazy year once the Eagles get untracked.
 
"It's been a fun, fun spring so far despite our record," he said. "But I'm going to tell you something – come conference time, we're going to surprise some people. Because we're getting better every day out here."