When Kirsten Fagen’s parents married, they decided to pick up tennis — just as something to do together. Little did they know how strongly their chosen hobby would impact the lives of their four children.

Today, Fagen is one of three seniors on the Iowa State tennis squad. Her older brother David played tennis for Miami of Ohio and sister Gretchen played at Eastern Illinois. Her younger sister, Heidi, will begin collegiate play next year.

“It’s a total tennis family,” Fagen said.

The Cyclone captain said she began playing tennis at age seven, following the path blazed by her older siblings. At that time, her family lived near Indianapolis, and she practiced extensively at a large training center there.

“We just played every day and traveled to tournaments in the summer,” she said. She credits a junior coach there, P.A. Nilhagen, for helping her realize her full tennis potential and calls him her greatest tennis influence.

Fagen played her high school freshman season at Carmel, Ind. There, she and her doubles partner were named first-team all-state.

Her family then moved to Batavia, Ill., a town just west of Chicago. At Batavia High School, Fagen played impressive sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She was a three-time state singles qualifier and three-time all-conference selection. In addition, she ranked first in singles in the Northern Illinois Tennis Association.

It didn’t take long for Fagen’s solid play to attract the attention of college coaches. One of them was ISU Coach Michele Conlon.

“I was very impressed with her court presence,” Conlon said. “I thought she had a lot of competitiveness, maturity and poise. And I think a lot of the qualities you would hope for in your athletes, I really saw those things in her.”

Fagen said that she knew since junior high she wanted to play college tennis as her brother David, her role-model, had done. When the time came to choose a college, she considered several, including Butler and Western Michigan, but fell in love with ISU the first time she visited campus.

“I met the team and got along great with them. There was another girl from Illinois (current student Assistant Coach Angie Miller) up here. It was neat to have someone else,” Fagen said.

Adjusting to college when she arrived at ISU in 1994 was not a big problem for her, she said. First, she said she came from a strong high school tennis program and already knew the long hours of hard work that on-the-court success required. Second, she started college with four other freshmen players, which gave her an instant support group and friends.

“I had no problems adjusting…with the excitement of so many people my own age — especially on my tennis team. It was a real neat experience,” she said.

One person Fagen met at ISU as a freshman was fellow newcomer Mollie Racette from Urbandale. The pair “hit it off” from the start and are not only best friends, but also doubles partners at the No. 1 position. “She’s my buddy,” Fagen says of Racette. “That is who I spend most of my time outside of tennis with. It’s been great. You only meet a person like that once in a lifetime, I think.”

Fagen began at the No. 7 singles position as an ISU freshman but quickly moved up to the No. 2 spot. She ended the season 4-14 in singles matches and 7-9 in doubles.

As a sophomore, her record improved to 9-17 in singles and 9-13 in doubles. Then, last season, she compiled a 13-13 record in singles play and earned the squad’s most-improved player award.

“I rose to the occasion last year and played a lot of good tennis,” Fagen said. “I was coming through with a lot of big wins for the team.”

This season, Fagen has continued to play well and says she enjoys being a team captain, a role that includes making team rules and keeping everybody on track. She considers herself to be a very vocal leader.

“I seem to address a lot of the issues,” she said.

Off the court, Fagen has worked hard in the classroom and was named Honorable Mention Academic All-Big 12 last season. She said dedication is the key to balancing the demands of sports and academics. She added that she believes many people don’t realize how much time goes into being a successful student-athlete.

The elementary education major said she plans on teaching or possibly going to law school after graduation. Tennis is not in her included in her future plans. “No further tennis. That’s okay, I’ve played enough,” she jokingly said.

She also said she would like to eventually live in Illinois, near her family.

Fagen said she is very close to her family and calls her parents, David and Patricia, the biggest influences in her life.

“They’ve always supported me in everything I wanted to do and if I didn’t want to do it, they never made me,” she said.

With only a month remaining in her Cyclone career, Fagen said this season has been her best at ISU and she hopes to make the most of what is left of it.

“It’s the best team I’ve been on so far. We’re just in incredible shape and everyone’s working hard. Hopefully I can go out with a bang,” she said.

Looking back over her career, Fagen remembers a number of special moments. She said her best on-the-court memory came last season when she defeated a strong Baylor player in a gritty three-set match.

“I fell twice, sprained my ankle and wasn’t doing well physically. And, I just pulled through and won it,” she said.

Reflecting on the “big picture” of her four-year ISU experience, Fagen said that ISU has meant very much to her in many ways.

“(ISU) is an institution that believed in me and wanted me. I’ve put four years of hard work into them, and they’ve given me a great experience educationally, socially and tennis-wise. For me, it was the best place I could have ever come,” she said.

Conlon said that she will remember Fagen as the type of student-athlete that any coach would want on his or her squad.

“When I think of Kirsten, my memories will be of a complete person,” she said. “She’s contributed a lot on the court, without a doubt, but my memories will go beyond that.

“They’ll be memories of her working hard, cheering on her teammates and having a mature outlook.”