Nick Williams’ Return to the Court in 2021 Sparks Spartans
4/29/2021 9:22:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Cera Powell
For MSUspartans.com
Michigan State redshirt sophomore tennis player Nick Williams is having the best season of his career.
Which is a welcome reward, as Williams has worked hard coming back from challenging first two years as a Spartan.
Williams went 5-9 in singles while winning four doubles matches as a freshman in 2018-19, but then got hurt and had to sit out for the remainder of the season.
"My freshman year I was only able to compete in about half of the matches because I had suffered a bad ankle sprain with ligament damage and that kept me out for a while," Williams said.
After sitting out for the remainder of his freshman season, Williams had high hopes going into his sophomore year in 2019-20. He was ready to get back out on the court to start practicing in the summer, but he was faced with yet another injury.
"Right after I had recovered from the ankle injury, I ended up with an ECU tendon tear in my wrist, which is a fancy word for something that keeps a tendon in place," Williams said, describing the extensor carpi ulnaris sheath that connects the forearm to the wrist. "Every time I would hit a forehand, I was in extreme pain."
The thought of having to sit out for another season began to frustrate Williams. And an ECU injury, especially in his dominant tennis arm, was a definite threat to his playing future.
"They ended up needing to do a surgery to fix it, and the surgery had maybe an eight month to a 12-month recovery time," Williams said. "So, for the better part of my sophomore year last year I was just on the sidelines watching with a big brace that actually went all the way up nearly to my shoulder."
Williams had become frustrated with how his collegiate tennis career was playing out, and Spartan head coach Gene Orlando was feeling the same for him.
"I was just as disappointed and frustrated for him just because he's actually had quite a few injuries and we all thought it was in the past," Orlando said.
Keeping his focus, and staying positive while he recovered, was challenging.
"It was definitely frustrating on some days, to be honest," Williams said. "It had become the norm, like after being hurt a bunch my freshman year. It just got to a point where I watched more practices than I actually competed in."
Williams credited athletic trainer Brett Bernstein and teammate Jack Winkler for helping him stay strong during his recovery process – and giving him perspective. Winkler was going through his own challenges, trying to regain his tennis career after battling life-threatening ulcerative colitis.
"Even though I was unable to practice, I had that perspective like, 'hey, it could definitely be worse,' and just being able to focus my energy on helping Jack through his disease really helped me," Williams said.
Once Williams was able to get back out on the court, he said it felt like he was a kid on Christmas.
"I remember the first day when I got to go out and was allowed to swing my racket – I probably had the biggest grin ever on my face," Williams said. "It was just something that sometimes looked so far off in the distance it was hard to imagine how it would ever get back to that point."
It wasn't as far off in distance – closer than Williams had thought and it would be well worth the wait.
After fully recovering from all his injuries, he was able to get back on the court this season and compete again. And this time, he has stayed healthy for the entire season.
"Fortunately, my injuries are 100% recovered. I rarely ever have wrist pain anymore and I can compete at 100% so I'm very grateful for that," Williams said.
After waiting two seasons, Williams has excelled for the Spartans in 2021. He won the dual-clinching match over Minnesota in the Big Ten opener, and was named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 24 after leading the Spartans to wins at Nebraska and Iowa. He also entered the national rankings in doubles, along with Kazuki Matsuno, reaching as high as No. 38 in the ITA doubles rankings.
"It was so cool, just because I know it's been a couple years since anyone else in the program has gotten that award (Big Ten Player of the Week)," said Williams, who enters the Big Ten Tournament as MSU's No. 1 singles player. "To get the support from so many people that reached out to me afterwards because it didn't even feel in the moment like I had done anything special that weekend. But to have a great weekend like that and help the team get their first road sweep where we won both road matches in a week was a super cool honor to be given."
Orlando is also proud of Williams' accomplishments, because he knew it would drive the other players on the team to strive for that same success – if not even more.
"It's a program step for us, obviously these are accolades and having a sweep weekend on the road in the Big Ten – those are things you have to do to continue to build the belief in the program," Orlando said. "The guys believe they have opportunities to say: 'This is what Nick Williams did. I compete with him day in and day out, I'm right there with him if he can do it - I can too.'"
Orlando and Williams feel the national ranking and Big Ten Player of the Week title is just a result of the hard work that they've been putting during the pandemic.
"It was one of my goals at the beginning of the year to have doubles ranking, and to be the first Spartan ranked since Jack Winkler two years ago is definitely an honor," Williams said.
It also gives the coaches and team the affirmation they need that they're heading in the right direction.
"It's been an absolute blast, I know the words 'dream come true' are probably overused, but I would probably say that it's absolutely everything I hoped to be more," Williams said. "Being able to help build the program with some of my best friends and just great coaches has been everything you can ask for in a team."
Although Williams has faced a lot of adversity during his collegiate career due to his injuries, he has tried to make the most of his time here at MSU. He can't wait to see what's in store for his senior season.
"We continue to work just as hard as we did the day we walked in in January and continue to get better every day," said Williams, who has also earned ITA Scholar-Athlete and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors during his career. "The work we put in now will obviously make us sharper for next season, and most importantly, the work we put in now is going to make us better overall."
Orlando said Williams' relentless commitment, work ethic, maturity and taking advantage of every practice has molded him into the player he is now, and he's very impressed.
"I think the injuries probably helped him – he has more of an appreciation for the game," Orlando said. "He does everything the right way and I think that's really helped expedite his success on the court. I think he's had a game transformation. He's improved in every aspect of this game, and with 10 months of no injuries, he's really been able to make great strides."
Michigan State opens play in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, April 29 against Iowa.
For MSUspartans.com
Michigan State redshirt sophomore tennis player Nick Williams is having the best season of his career.
Which is a welcome reward, as Williams has worked hard coming back from challenging first two years as a Spartan.
Williams went 5-9 in singles while winning four doubles matches as a freshman in 2018-19, but then got hurt and had to sit out for the remainder of the season.
"My freshman year I was only able to compete in about half of the matches because I had suffered a bad ankle sprain with ligament damage and that kept me out for a while," Williams said.
After sitting out for the remainder of his freshman season, Williams had high hopes going into his sophomore year in 2019-20. He was ready to get back out on the court to start practicing in the summer, but he was faced with yet another injury.
"Right after I had recovered from the ankle injury, I ended up with an ECU tendon tear in my wrist, which is a fancy word for something that keeps a tendon in place," Williams said, describing the extensor carpi ulnaris sheath that connects the forearm to the wrist. "Every time I would hit a forehand, I was in extreme pain."
The thought of having to sit out for another season began to frustrate Williams. And an ECU injury, especially in his dominant tennis arm, was a definite threat to his playing future.
"They ended up needing to do a surgery to fix it, and the surgery had maybe an eight month to a 12-month recovery time," Williams said. "So, for the better part of my sophomore year last year I was just on the sidelines watching with a big brace that actually went all the way up nearly to my shoulder."
Williams had become frustrated with how his collegiate tennis career was playing out, and Spartan head coach Gene Orlando was feeling the same for him.
"I was just as disappointed and frustrated for him just because he's actually had quite a few injuries and we all thought it was in the past," Orlando said.
Keeping his focus, and staying positive while he recovered, was challenging.
"It was definitely frustrating on some days, to be honest," Williams said. "It had become the norm, like after being hurt a bunch my freshman year. It just got to a point where I watched more practices than I actually competed in."
Williams credited athletic trainer Brett Bernstein and teammate Jack Winkler for helping him stay strong during his recovery process – and giving him perspective. Winkler was going through his own challenges, trying to regain his tennis career after battling life-threatening ulcerative colitis.
"Even though I was unable to practice, I had that perspective like, 'hey, it could definitely be worse,' and just being able to focus my energy on helping Jack through his disease really helped me," Williams said.
Once Williams was able to get back out on the court, he said it felt like he was a kid on Christmas.
"I remember the first day when I got to go out and was allowed to swing my racket – I probably had the biggest grin ever on my face," Williams said. "It was just something that sometimes looked so far off in the distance it was hard to imagine how it would ever get back to that point."
It wasn't as far off in distance – closer than Williams had thought and it would be well worth the wait.
After fully recovering from all his injuries, he was able to get back on the court this season and compete again. And this time, he has stayed healthy for the entire season.
"Fortunately, my injuries are 100% recovered. I rarely ever have wrist pain anymore and I can compete at 100% so I'm very grateful for that," Williams said.
After waiting two seasons, Williams has excelled for the Spartans in 2021. He won the dual-clinching match over Minnesota in the Big Ten opener, and was named Big Ten Player of the Week on March 24 after leading the Spartans to wins at Nebraska and Iowa. He also entered the national rankings in doubles, along with Kazuki Matsuno, reaching as high as No. 38 in the ITA doubles rankings.
"It was so cool, just because I know it's been a couple years since anyone else in the program has gotten that award (Big Ten Player of the Week)," said Williams, who enters the Big Ten Tournament as MSU's No. 1 singles player. "To get the support from so many people that reached out to me afterwards because it didn't even feel in the moment like I had done anything special that weekend. But to have a great weekend like that and help the team get their first road sweep where we won both road matches in a week was a super cool honor to be given."
Orlando is also proud of Williams' accomplishments, because he knew it would drive the other players on the team to strive for that same success – if not even more.
"It's a program step for us, obviously these are accolades and having a sweep weekend on the road in the Big Ten – those are things you have to do to continue to build the belief in the program," Orlando said. "The guys believe they have opportunities to say: 'This is what Nick Williams did. I compete with him day in and day out, I'm right there with him if he can do it - I can too.'"
Orlando and Williams feel the national ranking and Big Ten Player of the Week title is just a result of the hard work that they've been putting during the pandemic.
"It was one of my goals at the beginning of the year to have doubles ranking, and to be the first Spartan ranked since Jack Winkler two years ago is definitely an honor," Williams said.
It also gives the coaches and team the affirmation they need that they're heading in the right direction.
"It's been an absolute blast, I know the words 'dream come true' are probably overused, but I would probably say that it's absolutely everything I hoped to be more," Williams said. "Being able to help build the program with some of my best friends and just great coaches has been everything you can ask for in a team."
Although Williams has faced a lot of adversity during his collegiate career due to his injuries, he has tried to make the most of his time here at MSU. He can't wait to see what's in store for his senior season.
"We continue to work just as hard as we did the day we walked in in January and continue to get better every day," said Williams, who has also earned ITA Scholar-Athlete and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors during his career. "The work we put in now will obviously make us sharper for next season, and most importantly, the work we put in now is going to make us better overall."
Orlando said Williams' relentless commitment, work ethic, maturity and taking advantage of every practice has molded him into the player he is now, and he's very impressed.
"I think the injuries probably helped him – he has more of an appreciation for the game," Orlando said. "He does everything the right way and I think that's really helped expedite his success on the court. I think he's had a game transformation. He's improved in every aspect of this game, and with 10 months of no injuries, he's really been able to make great strides."
Michigan State opens play in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, April 29 against Iowa.
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