Rice University Athletics
On the Home Stretch: Senior Carries the Torch for Women's Tennis
4/12/2024 2:48:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Over the past two decades, Rice women's tennis has produced its fair share of excellence. The Owls have won seven conference championships since 2006 and have appeared in the ITA rankings in each of the past 16 seasons (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season), including every season of head coach Elizabeth Schmidt's 15 years at the helm of the Owls.
A number of all-time greats have helped push Rice into the upper echelon of C-USA and now the AAC. All-Americans like Natalie Beazant and Katherine Ip, C-USA Players of the Year like Blair DeSesa and Michaela Haet, and many more.
And now, Federica Trevisan. Just like those before her, the product of Venice, Italy, is taking her turn carrying the flag of Rice tennis. From a phenomenal freshman campaign to her current season as a senior leader for the Owls, Trevisan is an embodiment of the team's culture.
"Creating a solid team culture is an important focus of our program," Schmidt said. "We look for players who will work hard, represent Rice with class, and embrace the team aspect of college tennis. Fedi has been a great representative of Rice and our program for the last four years. As you can see from her stats, Fedi thrives most during the team portion of the season. She leaves everything she has out there for her team and wears the Rice R with a ton of pride."
As a senior in her fourth year on South Main, Trevisan continues to build a career resume rivaling some of the best to take the court at the George R. Brown Tennis Center or, previously, the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. With 12 wins so far this season, Trevisan has already posted the highest number of singles victories at the first position since Beazant in 2015. Playing alongside graduate senior Chie Kezuka in doubles, the duo has reached double-digit wins during the dual match season, also playing exclusively at the first spot in the lineup.
"Tennis-wise, this is the best I've played," Trevisan said. "I have to play good opponents and I need to win the match because they're not going to give it to me for free. This season, I've been really focused on dealing with the ups and downs because I know that it happens where I'm going to lose a few games but not getting in my head about it and still trying to deal with the setbacks as best as I can. Mentally, this is probably the best season I've had in terms of the focus and the mental energy that I put in when I play a match. It's tiring. After a match, I'm exhausted. Not even just physically, but mentally."
Trevisan is no stranger to the success of this season, however. Growing up in Venice, Italy, Trevisan took an early interest in tennis and quickly showed the potential that would take her across the Atlantic Ocean, winning numerous tournaments in both singles and doubles. Yet it was not always guaranteed that Trevisan would pursue a collegiate career in the sport.
"I started just playing for fun but then it became more than that," Trevisan said. "When I was 12 or 13, I started playing international tournaments in Europe and then I got really into it. It was a tough decision after high school, knowing if I wanted to go to university in Europe or continue to play tennis at a professional level. Then I realized that college tennis would allow me to do both: pursue a degree and, at the same time practice, have fun and be part of a team. I think it's really the best decision I've ever made."
Before that decision, however, Trevisan's first brush with Rice came via one of those junior tournaments. In the doubles final at the XXIII International Junior de Leiria in Portugal in 2017, Trevisan faced off against who would become both a teammate and close friend in the coming years.
Maria Budin would go on to twice be named to the All-Conference USA Doubles Team at Rice, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in doubles and reaching the round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championship in 2022. In 2023, Budin and Trevisan would actually close out the season as a doubles team. On that day in 2017, however, it was Federica who would get the better of her future teammate — and never let her forget it.
"Federica won having saved match points," Budin said. "We're very competitive so we always joke about this match. When we were in Europe, I visited her home in Italy and one of the first things she showed me was the winner's trophy from Portugal in 2017. I recognized the trophy immediately because I have the same one at home, just slightly smaller. This was a fun full circle moment that we will continue to talk about for a long time I'm sure."
After claiming several singles and doubles titles on the junior circuit, Trevisan made the jump, like Budin and many other Owls before and since, across the pond to South Main. Becoming a Rice student-athlete comes with its own set of challenges — from balancing class schedules with practice time to integrating within the diverse community of campus and the team. Even this season, Rice's roster features players from seven different countries.
"Even though I didn't know anyone, I was immediately a part of a team," Trevisan said. "It was a much easier transition coming all the way to America and all of my teammates were international my freshman year. There was not a single American, so we were kind of all in the same boat. I was the only freshman as well, so that was hard but at the same time, I had people to look up to and that really helped me get settled in. I really started enjoying my experience at Rice when I realized that my people were inside the tennis team. Once I became closer with my teammates, that's when I started having the most fun. That's what has made my experience so special. I made, I hope, lifelong friends."
Shortly after arriving in Houston, the success Trevisan built in Europe followed. Compiling a combined 29 wins across singles and doubles play on the year, Trevisan was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team and earned First Team Singles honors.
"I was just really locked in," Trevisan said. "I remember feeling a bit of pressure because I was a freshman and I didn't want to be playing badly. I wanted to perform well for the team, knowing that I had to win for the sake of my team and I think that also pushed me harder. I wasn't just playing for myself. That was a whole different experience. Tennis is so individual. I'd been playing individual tournaments for my whole life pretty much. Coming here, I needed to put the team's needs before my own. I think that really pushed me harder to perform well for the whole team. Freshman year, I remember that I didn't really care that much about how well I was playing, but I was making sure that I was on every point. I was really mentally focused."
That same focus has persisted throughout Trevisan's career at Rice, as she repeated as a C-USA First Team All-Singles member in 2023 and has amassed 116 total victories as an Owl, including 79 singles and doubles wins in dual matches. Even off the court, Trevisan's competitive drive shines through.
"She holds herself to a high standard in everything she does and this definitely comes out on the court and is one of the reasons she is so successful," Budin said. "Off the court, she is just as competitive - for example, we like to play table tennis and that gets serious and we are just as engaged as we are for tennis."
On the court and by Trevisan's own admission, a counterbalance to her competitive drive and zeal can be quite welcome. After finishing out the 2023 season playing alongside Budin, Trevisan has found that equalibrious partner in Chie Kezuka. The duo have combined for a 14-6 record in doubles matches this year, including a 10-4 mark during the dual match season while playing exclusively at the top spot in the lineup.
"I don't know if neurotic is the word, but I get nervous and I get angry," Trevisan said. "(Chie's) presence is so reassuring. I think that's why we smile a lot. She makes me feel less nervous when I'm on the court and it just makes it a lot more enjoyable. We're a great match, to be honest. I've really been enjoying playing with her. She's a great addition to the team, not only as a player but as a person. She's truly so kind and so genuine. It's truly been great to have her here and it's a shame that she's only been here for a year, to be honest. I think how we play on the doubles court is just a reflection of how we are as friends… We've been playing really well. I just love Chie. I could talk about Chie for hours. She's great. She's truly great."
After the doubles match concludes and Trevisan is again left to the seclusion of singles play, she has made strides in imbuing some of those same characteristics of calmness and reassurance. Playing at the first position in the lineup, Trevisan has gone face-to-face with several of the best tennis players in the country — and proven she belongs.
"The biggest area that Fedi has grown is in her self-belief," Schmidt said. "Those of us around her have always seen and known what she is capable of as she is a great athlete and a talented tennis player. But at times, she has struggled to see that in herself. Replacing negative self-talk with more positive and productive self-talk is something we have worked a lot with her on and it has been great to see her grow in that area. Fedi has also embraced the process and matured in these four years. She has developed into a team leader both on and off the court this season. It has been a fun and gratifying journey these past four years and we will really miss her when she graduates."
On Saturday, the Owls will have the chance to celebrate the career of Trevisan, plus the career of Kezuka, who joined Rice as a graduate transfer this season after a stellar four-year career at Iowa State. The Owls will face Prairie View A&M in the final opportunity for each to take the court at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
"I just want to continue being as locked in as I've been the whole season," Trevisan said, "and honestly also enjoy it, the fact that it's my last time. Maybe don't put too much pressure on myself and just embrace the fact that these are the last few matches that I'm going to play at Rice. I'm sure there are going to be a few tears, maybe more than a few. I just want to enjoy it because I'm never going to get these months back, so I want to be aware that this is my last few times so I can fully enjoy it."
Before those weeks pass by, however, there are still a number of goals Fedi and the team hope to accomplish. The Owls have gone 6-1 versus AAC competition this season and are well-positioned for their first AAC tournament on April 17-21 in Dallas, Texas.
"Winning conference I think is very doable," Trevisan said. "I think we definitely have a really good chance of winning conference and then that will enable us to make it to NCAAs. I think winning a few rounds at the NCAAs would be great. My teammates and I are going to do everything we can. We've been training hard and giving it our all in the past matches. We're definitely ready to because by the time the conference tournament comes, we will have played pretty much every team in our conference.
"As a team, that's the goal and I think that we can definitely achieve it."
A number of all-time greats have helped push Rice into the upper echelon of C-USA and now the AAC. All-Americans like Natalie Beazant and Katherine Ip, C-USA Players of the Year like Blair DeSesa and Michaela Haet, and many more.
And now, Federica Trevisan. Just like those before her, the product of Venice, Italy, is taking her turn carrying the flag of Rice tennis. From a phenomenal freshman campaign to her current season as a senior leader for the Owls, Trevisan is an embodiment of the team's culture.
"Creating a solid team culture is an important focus of our program," Schmidt said. "We look for players who will work hard, represent Rice with class, and embrace the team aspect of college tennis. Fedi has been a great representative of Rice and our program for the last four years. As you can see from her stats, Fedi thrives most during the team portion of the season. She leaves everything she has out there for her team and wears the Rice R with a ton of pride."
As a senior in her fourth year on South Main, Trevisan continues to build a career resume rivaling some of the best to take the court at the George R. Brown Tennis Center or, previously, the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. With 12 wins so far this season, Trevisan has already posted the highest number of singles victories at the first position since Beazant in 2015. Playing alongside graduate senior Chie Kezuka in doubles, the duo has reached double-digit wins during the dual match season, also playing exclusively at the first spot in the lineup.
"Tennis-wise, this is the best I've played," Trevisan said. "I have to play good opponents and I need to win the match because they're not going to give it to me for free. This season, I've been really focused on dealing with the ups and downs because I know that it happens where I'm going to lose a few games but not getting in my head about it and still trying to deal with the setbacks as best as I can. Mentally, this is probably the best season I've had in terms of the focus and the mental energy that I put in when I play a match. It's tiring. After a match, I'm exhausted. Not even just physically, but mentally."
Trevisan is no stranger to the success of this season, however. Growing up in Venice, Italy, Trevisan took an early interest in tennis and quickly showed the potential that would take her across the Atlantic Ocean, winning numerous tournaments in both singles and doubles. Yet it was not always guaranteed that Trevisan would pursue a collegiate career in the sport.
"I started just playing for fun but then it became more than that," Trevisan said. "When I was 12 or 13, I started playing international tournaments in Europe and then I got really into it. It was a tough decision after high school, knowing if I wanted to go to university in Europe or continue to play tennis at a professional level. Then I realized that college tennis would allow me to do both: pursue a degree and, at the same time practice, have fun and be part of a team. I think it's really the best decision I've ever made."
Before that decision, however, Trevisan's first brush with Rice came via one of those junior tournaments. In the doubles final at the XXIII International Junior de Leiria in Portugal in 2017, Trevisan faced off against who would become both a teammate and close friend in the coming years.
Maria Budin would go on to twice be named to the All-Conference USA Doubles Team at Rice, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in doubles and reaching the round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championship in 2022. In 2023, Budin and Trevisan would actually close out the season as a doubles team. On that day in 2017, however, it was Federica who would get the better of her future teammate — and never let her forget it.
"Federica won having saved match points," Budin said. "We're very competitive so we always joke about this match. When we were in Europe, I visited her home in Italy and one of the first things she showed me was the winner's trophy from Portugal in 2017. I recognized the trophy immediately because I have the same one at home, just slightly smaller. This was a fun full circle moment that we will continue to talk about for a long time I'm sure."
After claiming several singles and doubles titles on the junior circuit, Trevisan made the jump, like Budin and many other Owls before and since, across the pond to South Main. Becoming a Rice student-athlete comes with its own set of challenges — from balancing class schedules with practice time to integrating within the diverse community of campus and the team. Even this season, Rice's roster features players from seven different countries.
"Even though I didn't know anyone, I was immediately a part of a team," Trevisan said. "It was a much easier transition coming all the way to America and all of my teammates were international my freshman year. There was not a single American, so we were kind of all in the same boat. I was the only freshman as well, so that was hard but at the same time, I had people to look up to and that really helped me get settled in. I really started enjoying my experience at Rice when I realized that my people were inside the tennis team. Once I became closer with my teammates, that's when I started having the most fun. That's what has made my experience so special. I made, I hope, lifelong friends."
Shortly after arriving in Houston, the success Trevisan built in Europe followed. Compiling a combined 29 wins across singles and doubles play on the year, Trevisan was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team and earned First Team Singles honors.
"I was just really locked in," Trevisan said. "I remember feeling a bit of pressure because I was a freshman and I didn't want to be playing badly. I wanted to perform well for the team, knowing that I had to win for the sake of my team and I think that also pushed me harder. I wasn't just playing for myself. That was a whole different experience. Tennis is so individual. I'd been playing individual tournaments for my whole life pretty much. Coming here, I needed to put the team's needs before my own. I think that really pushed me harder to perform well for the whole team. Freshman year, I remember that I didn't really care that much about how well I was playing, but I was making sure that I was on every point. I was really mentally focused."
That same focus has persisted throughout Trevisan's career at Rice, as she repeated as a C-USA First Team All-Singles member in 2023 and has amassed 116 total victories as an Owl, including 79 singles and doubles wins in dual matches. Even off the court, Trevisan's competitive drive shines through.
"She holds herself to a high standard in everything she does and this definitely comes out on the court and is one of the reasons she is so successful," Budin said. "Off the court, she is just as competitive - for example, we like to play table tennis and that gets serious and we are just as engaged as we are for tennis."
On the court and by Trevisan's own admission, a counterbalance to her competitive drive and zeal can be quite welcome. After finishing out the 2023 season playing alongside Budin, Trevisan has found that equalibrious partner in Chie Kezuka. The duo have combined for a 14-6 record in doubles matches this year, including a 10-4 mark during the dual match season while playing exclusively at the top spot in the lineup.
"I don't know if neurotic is the word, but I get nervous and I get angry," Trevisan said. "(Chie's) presence is so reassuring. I think that's why we smile a lot. She makes me feel less nervous when I'm on the court and it just makes it a lot more enjoyable. We're a great match, to be honest. I've really been enjoying playing with her. She's a great addition to the team, not only as a player but as a person. She's truly so kind and so genuine. It's truly been great to have her here and it's a shame that she's only been here for a year, to be honest. I think how we play on the doubles court is just a reflection of how we are as friends… We've been playing really well. I just love Chie. I could talk about Chie for hours. She's great. She's truly great."
After the doubles match concludes and Trevisan is again left to the seclusion of singles play, she has made strides in imbuing some of those same characteristics of calmness and reassurance. Playing at the first position in the lineup, Trevisan has gone face-to-face with several of the best tennis players in the country — and proven she belongs.
"The biggest area that Fedi has grown is in her self-belief," Schmidt said. "Those of us around her have always seen and known what she is capable of as she is a great athlete and a talented tennis player. But at times, she has struggled to see that in herself. Replacing negative self-talk with more positive and productive self-talk is something we have worked a lot with her on and it has been great to see her grow in that area. Fedi has also embraced the process and matured in these four years. She has developed into a team leader both on and off the court this season. It has been a fun and gratifying journey these past four years and we will really miss her when she graduates."
On Saturday, the Owls will have the chance to celebrate the career of Trevisan, plus the career of Kezuka, who joined Rice as a graduate transfer this season after a stellar four-year career at Iowa State. The Owls will face Prairie View A&M in the final opportunity for each to take the court at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
"I just want to continue being as locked in as I've been the whole season," Trevisan said, "and honestly also enjoy it, the fact that it's my last time. Maybe don't put too much pressure on myself and just embrace the fact that these are the last few matches that I'm going to play at Rice. I'm sure there are going to be a few tears, maybe more than a few. I just want to enjoy it because I'm never going to get these months back, so I want to be aware that this is my last few times so I can fully enjoy it."
Before those weeks pass by, however, there are still a number of goals Fedi and the team hope to accomplish. The Owls have gone 6-1 versus AAC competition this season and are well-positioned for their first AAC tournament on April 17-21 in Dallas, Texas.
"Winning conference I think is very doable," Trevisan said. "I think we definitely have a really good chance of winning conference and then that will enable us to make it to NCAAs. I think winning a few rounds at the NCAAs would be great. My teammates and I are going to do everything we can. We've been training hard and giving it our all in the past matches. We're definitely ready to because by the time the conference tournament comes, we will have played pretty much every team in our conference.
"As a team, that's the goal and I think that we can definitely achieve it."
Players Mentioned
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