“Let’s go, CS!” shouts one of graduate student Colbeyshae Emery’s teammates from a neighboring court.
“Let’s go, Brooke!” Emery answers before serving the tennis ball to her opponent.
Her fourth year on the Biola women’s tennis team, Emery plays No. 1 on singles and doubles on the team. She comes from a family of tennis fanatics — her older sister plays tennis for University of California Los Angeles and her younger brother plays for Westmont College.
“I started playing tennis when I was around three years old,” Emery said, crediting her father for getting her into the sport.
BECOMING A BIOLA EAGLE
When Emery was deciding where she would go for university, she connected with head tennis coach David Goodman and soon signed on as an Eagle.
“Coming out of high school, Colbeyshae was one of the best tennis players in the country,” Goodman said. “Obviously we were interested because of her level of play, but frankly I was sort of surprised that she wanted to come to Biola.”
As most athletes at her level usually play NCAA Division I, he was thrilled when she committed to Biola.
“Coach Goodman was rebuilding the team, and it was a great opportunity for me to come in and help make Biola competitive in our conference,” Emery said.
UNDERGRADUATE CAREER
Emery started playing tennis for Biola as an undergraduate public relations major, where she racked up an impressive resume.
In the 2020 season, she was Biola’s first Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s NCAA DII All-American selection and finished as the No. 5 singles player in the West region — all in 14 matches due to the season’s early stoppage because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 2021 season, she went 14-4 in singles and 10-6 in doubles from the first court. Eleven of her matches were won in two sets with a nine-match singles win streak and a seven-match doubles win streak with partner Mary Brascia.
In the 2022 season, Emery finished her undergraduate tennis career as an NCAA First Team All-PacWest Singles athlete and Second Team All-PacWest doubles athlete with her partner, Brascia. Emery went 18-5 in singles and 16-6 in doubles from the first court.
“One thing about [Colbeyshae] is that she understands what it takes to successful,” Goodman said, mentioning her success both on the courts and in the classroom. “She is willing to put the time and energy into whatever she puts her mind to.”
2023 SEASON
After graduating from the public relations program, Emery applied to the Crowell School of Business’ masters of business administration program so she could finish out her NCAA tennis eligibility at Biola.
“Going from undergrad to grad student has actually [been] a very easy adjustment,” Emery said.
Despite taking fewer classes, there is still a lot of work she needs to complete for her degree. However, she has had experience with time management for most of her life due to tennis scheduling so it has not been too hard to handle, according to Emery.
Currently, in the 2023 season, she is 5-3 in singles and 3-5 in doubles.
“Colbeyshae has been a consistent winner for the team the last four years,” Goodman said when asked about her season thus far. “She just recently broke Biola’s women’s tennis all time singles wins record with 49 and counting.”
POST-GRADUATION
Post-graduation, Emery plans on entering the public relations workforce, specifically in sports.
“There’s a lot of PR opportunities in the professional tennis tour,” she said. “I could see myself doing something like that.”
Emery thinks the biggest lesson she has learned at Biola is to take time to enjoy what she is doing, whatever that may be.
“My years here have flown by, and I think it’s so important to really take advantage of those moments with friends, teammates and on and off the court and savor and enjoy them because pretty soon they will be over,” Emery said.
Emery will next face off against Azusa Pacific University at home on March 25 at 2 p.m. Footage and stats from her games are located on the Biola Athletics website.
