By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ELANA Mackey said she has been really pleased with her progress during her past season at Mars Hill University in North Carolina.

While she held court in tennis, Mackey also showed her versatility in running on the Lions’ track and field team.

“I think I had a really good season,” said Mackey, who is now back home for the season. “Me and my doubles partner got nationally ranked and in singles, I had a 14-5 (win-loss) record and I made the third team All-Conference team.”

Mackey was referring to the South Atlantic Conference of which they compete in.

“Each year in college, I just see myself getting better and better,” said Mackey, a graduate of Temple Christian who transferred from the University of the Bahamas to Mars Hill in 2021.

During her season, Mackey also put on her sprints and competed in the 400 metres where she ran a personal best of one minute, something that she prides herself on as she finished 20th, but she admitted that she’s not looking to run anymore this year while she’s at home.

With her season over and done with, Mackey said she’s now concentrating on her tennis game and getting better so she can be in a position to help the Bahamas when she travels with the national team to compete in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Having earned the top spot on the team at the Giorgio Baldacci Open in December with her victory over Sydney Clarke, Mackey was on hand at the National Tennis Centre as she watched Simone Pratt and Sapharra Ferguson clinch the other two spots on the team at the final trials.

“I think they are two really good players,” said Mackey about Pratt and Ferguson.

“Simone has a lot of experience so she can give us some strategies to use against some of the teams we are playing.

“And I think Saphirra is a really good junior player. She still has a lot to learn, but she’s still a very good player.”

In making her fourth appearance on the team, Mackey said she just hopes that the Bahamas can finish in the top four and get a chance to be promoted.

The 20-year-old Mackey, who stands at 5-feet, 8 1/4-inches, said she’s just delighted to be back home and get a chance to work with the other players in preparation for the Billie Jean King Cup.

“I have been ready to come back home since April because it was really hard,” said Mackey, who just completed her junior year and is now getting ready for her senior year. “