She moved halfway across the country at age 12 to train full time. She was sidelined by injuries for 14 months at the peak of her young career. She began college at 16 years old.
And yet, those obstacles weren’t even the toughest part for Ashley Lahey.
Lahey, 19 and now a junior at Pepperdine, is the defending NCAA Women’s Tennis singles runner-up and a two-time all-WCC singles first team player. She is the fourth-ranked collegiate player in the nation but, en-route to these successes, the biggest obstacle has been maintaining her identity off the court.