Despite growing up playing basketball, Mason Fair, sophomore business major, was intrigued with tennis and has pursued it through high school and college. Hailing from Oklahoma City, only four hours away from Topeka, Mason Fair chose tennis over basketball his freshman year of high school.
“One of my childhood friends started playing tennis,” Fair said. “He got decently good, but he liked to talk a lot of trash, so I told him I’d play him. We had a good match, and I kind of fell in love with tennis right then.”
Fair attended the Classen School of Advanced Studies in Oklahoma City, which would prepare him to become an Ichabod come graduation. However, that wasn’t immediately in the plans.
“I was actually committed to a school up in Maryland called Mount St. Mary’s, which was Division I […] They were okay, but after a little bit more thought, I didn’t want to be too far from home,” Fair said. “Washburn would absolutely destroy probably half of the Division I schools in tennis.”
The Washburn men’s tennis team is currently ranked third in the nation, which is a program high, but Mason hopes the team can shoot for number one. He mentioned setting high expectations and that should be a matter of motivation rather than stress or anxiety.
He explained he thoroughly enjoys being a part of the team with a multiplicity of unique personalities and dedicated coaches. The team is diverse, with members from various parts of the world, including Germany, Italy, Japan, Cyprus, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
“It’s just kind of like a giant melting pot. You got a lot of different personalities, but they all blend super well together. We got 14 guys. They all have the same goals,” Fair said.
That goal is being able to reach the national championship. Fair is currently looking forward to May, when the competition becomes intense for the tennis season.
He has thus far enjoyed his stay in Kansas, having visited notable spots like Lawrence and Kansas City. Fair is also a finance and entrepreneurship student at Washburn’s School of Business. He has a passion for sales and recently had a sales internship, hoping to develop a career path that isn’t a typical 9 to 5.
Edited by Stuti Khadka and Jayme Thompson
