Her sophomore season has just begun, but Hayley Homburg has already accomplished quite a bit on the tennis court at Eastern. In 2007, she became the first Eastern player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year, and along with partner Natalie Martin became the first Eastern doubles team to receive a national ranking (No. 56 in the Fila College Rankings). Homburg recently sat down with Staff Reporter Mike Mears to talk about the upcoming season, owning a movie collection comparable to Blockbuster and rocking out to Queen.

How did you get into tennis?

My mom plays tennis. She started when she was in her 20s, so I was introduced to it when I was a baby, and I would always come and watch her.

What is your outlook for this season?

Personally, I’m just going to try to do my absolute best. I think what I’m really excited for is to play doubles with Natalie (Martin) after what happened last year. We did really well.

What do you like about teaming with Natalie?

Everything. The chemistry is great on and off the court. It’s unbelievable. I just love playing with her. We compliment each other with our match play as well as giving each other positive feedback after points and everything. I’ve never played with somebody that was so much fun and yet so dedicated to tennis. It really is uplifting to play with her.

How do your games compliment each other?

We’re both all-court players, and we love to be at the net. I play on the forehand side, and she plays on the backhand. We just work so well together.

You had a very successful freshman year. Tell me about that.

It was definitely a really fun experience. Getting those awards has made me more motivated to do even better this year and in the years to come. I had high expectations for myself in the beginning, and I thought my goals were reached. Getting those honors was really nice, but it’s not everything I have in store for me.

You won your last eight matches of your freshman year. What was clicking?

I don’t know. I really had the same attitude when I first started. Just playing one point at a time, not worrying about the next match I had the next week.

Do you prefer singles or doubles?

Doubles. I love the team atmosphere. Anything that involves the team. I like playing singles. I like the strategy and everything, but playing with Natalie makes everything a lot more fun.

Tell me about Tennis Europe.

Tennis Europe was an organization put together for students in high school that had so much experience or a ranking in the United States Tennis Association (USTA). It’s a tennis team for the United States (U.S.) that got together and traveled Europe. We went to Paris, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Nice, France. It was a great experience. We had three coaches who were in their mid-20s. We all had to fend for ourselves and nobody really knew each other. We had people from California, New York and everywhere in between. It was a great experience. We played against some of the top people in Europe. A man that ran a country club I played tournaments at told me about it. He introduced it to me and told me it would be a great thing to get into if I had time to do it. We were there 32 days, I believe, the summer before my sophomore year of high school.

You were a member of the Wisconsin Whiteman Cup team in 2006. Tell me about that.

It’s one of the biggest Midwest tennis tournaments that you can get into. There’s so many coaches from colleges that go to scout players there. Basically, there’s a Wisconsin team, a northern Illinois team, a southern Illinois team, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan. It’s in Muncie, Ind., where Ball State is, and you compete against each other kind of like a dual match.

What’s the strongest part of your game?

I don’t think I can disclose that. What if other teams look at this?

Well, they still have to beat you whether they know it or not.

I know, I’m just kidding. Strongest part of my game, I’d have to say it’s my mental game. Even if I’m down in the first set I can pull things together and really get focused and bring it back if I need to.

Have you always been like that, or is it a mentality you’ve developed over time?

Well, through experience it always gets better. I’d have to say back in the day, in high school, there were times that if something bothered me it would get to me a little more than it does now.

What part of your game needs the most improvement?

Everything. I really can’t pinpoint one thing. I’m sure my coaches could. I need to work on almost everything. I’m never satisfied.

What are your goals for the rest of your career at Eastern?

Our biggest goal as a team is to get a conference title. As a personal goal, it’s just to take one match at a time. My goal is to defeat whoever I’m playing in singles and doubles. Throughout the rest of my years, I can’t really say right now. I don’t want to focus too far in the future.

So you haven’t given a lot of thought to playing tennis after college yet?

I’m only a sophomore. I honestly don’t even know what I’m going to do for my major yet, to be 100 percent sure.

Is there any tennis player you model your game after?

I don’t want to be cliché because everyone is a fan of Maria Sharapova, but she does have a great game, and her mental game is unbelievable. That’s probably who I look at most.

Do you have any pre-match routine?

So many people have asked me this question. I’d love to say that I listen to my music or a specific song, but just being with my teammates, that’s what gets me pumped up and ready to play a match.

What music are you listening to these days?

These days I have a mixture of things. I like rock, country, a little hip-hop and rap here and there. My favorite band, I don’t want to be too old-school, but I’ve grown up with Queen all my life. If I didn’t mention Queen my dad would be upset.

What are your favorite movies?

I can’t pick one. My dad and I are movie critics and fanatics. That’s our hobby – to watch movies. If you walked into our house we probably have more movies than Blockbuster. I’m not gonna lie. But the all-time classic, since I was so little, is “Grease.” “Caddyshack” is up there too.

Who are your best friends on the team?

You know, our team is pretty close. Everybody is close. Yeah, Natalie and I are doubles partners, and we have a connection that’s different from anybody else, but we’re all pretty close. Some of us live in the dorms together, so we’re together all the time. Anybody that’s off campus we stay in touch with and get together every weekend.

You’re a tennis star, but your favorite sports moment was being on a state championship soccer team?

That was actually my freshman year of high school. It was just great to be involved with that team. I only got about 45 seconds in that game, but it was such a great experience – that feeling you have when you’re the champion. It was just unbelievable. We rocked out to Queen after that. It was just great.

What are your goals after you graduate?

I’d like to be somewhere close to home where I’d be teaching tennis. My goal for however many years from now; I’d like to be a tennis coach. Preferably in college, Division I. I’d like to have an internship as an assistant coach right after college.

Mike Mears can be reached at 581-7944 or at mlmears@eiu.edu.

Sophomore tennis player Hayley Homberg has a passion for tennis but also loves to play the acoustic guitar in her free time as well. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)

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