Anna Wanek

In her first season with the Simpson College women’s tennis team, transfer Anna Wanek dominated the competition in the American Rivers Conference. She posted a perfect 14-0 singles record, won the league tournament and earned conference MVP honors. 

While her accomplishments on the court during the fall 2020 season were impressive – she is Simpson’s first conference MVP in women’s tennis since 1996 – they become more impressive when considering what she did on the tennis court the previous two seasons.

Which was nothing. Nothing at all. The last time she played competitive tennis was her senior year at Dowling Catholic High School.

Wanek transferred to Simpson from NCAA Division II Minnesota State University–Mankato, where she was a member of the basketball team. The time commitment required to play a scholarship sport at the Division II level didn’t provide the freedom to compete in more than one sport.

“I started missing tennis right away,” Wanek said. “I brought my tennis racquet and balls with me to be able to go out and hit with friends when I wasn’t at basketball practice.”

Wanek transferred for two primary reasons. She wanted to be closer to her family. And she wanted to play multiple sports. At Simpson, Wanek follows her passion for both tennis and basketball. She even helped the Storm win the 2020-21 A-R-C basketball championship after an unbeaten season.

“The best decision I have made so far in my life is enrolling at Simpson,” she said. “I will never regret this choice.”

Story first appeared in the spring 2021 issue of The Simpson Magazine