Kourtney Keegan glanced over from the garnet tennis courts.
She was up 6-5 in the third set and ahead 40-30 with the serve. Playing a Florida State team that the Gators had a commanding 54-1 overall record against, today’s match was too close. And in order for Florida to clinch what should’ve been a simple win, Keegan needed to secure her match.
She was the last one on.
Her stare met head coach Roland Thornqvist.
“I tell her ‘Pick your favorite serve, and go for it,’” Thornqvist said. “Boom.”
Keegan banged in an ace. And with that, the match was won.
As a sophomore, Keegan was already able to demonstrate her skill on the court.
Flash forward 18 months.
On an early September morning, the sun had peeked out over Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Keegan sat in a room featuring a shiny, wooden conference table occupied by members of UF's athletic director search committee. As the only athlete present, she was asked about the potential new athletic director, Scott Stricklin. And after voting to approve his hiring, she ended the morning by shaking his hand.
Being president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), she was the first athlete to know about his hiring.
As a multi-sport athlete, the head representative of student-athletes on campus and the 2016 NCAA doubles champion with teammate Brooke Austin, Keegan seems to have done it all.
But that’s nothing new. She’s been well rounded her whole life, and her story at Florida isn't over yet.
From a brother who plays football to a dad who taught tennis in college, Keegan grew up in a household full of athletes. She began playing in tennis tournaments at the age of 9 or 10.
“Tennis was always kind of my first love,” she said.
When she was about 11, Keegan began to train at Windward Tennis Academy in Alpharetta, Georgia, under the coaching of Will Wright. Wright traveled with Keegan throughout much of her junior play and even made the trip to the U.S. Open this past summer to watch her compete.
“When I was successful, he would congratulate me and tell me that I did a good job like any coach,” Keegan said. “But he told me I can always do better … I think that’s what kind of helped me to achieve a national championship.”
Keegan also played softball and basketball throughout high school, attributing basketball as a key developer in her leadership skills on the tennis court.
Wright, who is now the lead high-performance coach at Lifetime Tennis Academy, specifically remembers a period in which Keegan took time off from tennis for some months to play another sport, coming back only a week before a national tournament.
“There’s a lot of kids spending seven to eight hours a day playing,” Wright said. “And she takes off like three months, practices for a week and then wins the tournament.”
As a senior in high school, Keegan debated between the University of Georgia, UNC Chapel Hill and UF to pursue her tennis career. Thornqvist and the University of Florida were the last to contact her in the recruiting process.
“When you first see her, she’s an impressive athlete,” Thornqvist said. “Even before we got to know her, she seemed like the total package, and it was easy to see she had the potential to be really good.”
On her second visit to Gainesville she decided that she'd found a new home.
“Everyone talks about how you get the feeling when you know where you want to go, and that’s kind of what I got after my second visit,” Keegan said. “I realized that they were going to make me not only the best person, but the best tennis player, and that’s kind of what I wanted out of a college.”
Keegan was impressive at the college level from the start. After going 7-1 in regular-season SEC matches and being ranked 71st nationally by the end of her freshman season, she rolled into her sophomore season, raising her overall ranking to 51st.
She ended that season ranked first in the Southeast Region in doubles play and was awarded both UF's Evelyn Puckett Award for most improved player and the ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award for the Southeast Region.
“We are just so grateful she’s a Gator because she makes everyone better,” Thornqvist said.
• • •
Her leadership has shown off the tennis court as well. This year, Keegan is president of SAAC, the voice of athletes on campus. She got involved as a sophomore, becoming a SAAC representative her first year before jumping to secretary as a junior.
“As a leader on my team, I might be able to lead the whole athletic association, all the athletes,” Keegan said. “It’s kind of a big title, but I’m embracing it now.”
Her involvement stems from her desires to work in an athletic association in the future. She said that being an athletic director is something she might want to pursue.
“I thought that being SAAC president isn’t a bad start,” she said with a smile.
Keegan’s natural tendency for leadership is applauded by her coaches.
“She’s not necessarily always the loudest one in the locker room, but she is a great example in how she behaves, how she conducts herself, how she competes and how she represents Florida,” Thornqvist said. “She’s been one of the best leaders, in my opinion, that we’ve ever had.”
But her involvement in SAAC has had no detriment on her tennis. Even with her role of secretary as a junior, that year produced perhaps her best tennis at Florida to date.
• • •
In her junior year, Keegan climbed in the rankings to as high as second overall in doubles.
And to end the season, she was the 2016 NCAA doubles champion with Brooke Austin, the first individual title won by Florida players since 2001. Keegan said Thornqvist and assistant coach Dave Balogh instilled a mentality in their players to never give up. It’s a mentality that pushed her and Austin to be champions.
“It’s not only in matches but even in practice, running, lifting,” Keegan said. “You can be tired, sweating and wanting to give up, but at the same time, you just gotta finish the drill.”
What’s in store for her future? For one, she won’t be in the classroom next semester, as she finished classes in December.
Instead, Keegan will be interning at Carr Sports Consulting. She also might apply to grad school for sports management.
But first, she has her final Spring season as a Gator.
And while she has a goal of winning an NCAA team championship, as a senior, it’ll also be a time for her to reflect on her tennis career.
“She’s got such a good perspective on competing but still keeping the other, more important aspects in there,” Wright said, “In being a good person and competing the right way and being nice to other people.”
For Keegan, her fondest memories aren’t just on the courts, though. Instead, it's her teammates who will bring back the best moments during her time at Florida.
“It’s not necessarily certain matches I remember,” she said, “but all the bus rides, all the team bonding, making new relationships.”
With the success she’s already had, she now has one final semester to make more memories and capture a team championship.
“Coming here,” she said, “I don’t regret a thing.”
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
UF's Kourtney Keegan hits a forehand during Florida's 6-1 win over USF on Jan. 27, 2016, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
