Fotovatjah takes home athlete of the week award

Delara Fotovatjah won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week award March 22 after scoring the first point of the season for Chapman women’s tennis. Photo courtesy of Larry Newman

For Delara Fotovatjah, tennis is a mental game. Racing across a court’s concrete, snapping her wrist forward and backward to deflect shots with her racket, eyes twitching back and forth — it’s grueling and “funks” can ensue, as she described it. 

Despite the nature of singles tennis involving two players competing head-to-head on the court, Fotovatjah, a senior kinesiology major on Chapman’s women’s tennis, said those sitting on the bench to watch her performance are the key to her individual success. 

“If you don’t have the right support system with your coaches and your teammates that are willing to talk it out and grind it out with you on and off the court, it’s really difficult to progress sometimes and get out of a funk,” Fotovatjah said. “My coaches and teammates have been a really good example of, if we’re stuck, there’s always room for improvement.”

After battling through two sets in the Panthers’ first match of the year March 16 against Concordia University Irvine, winning both by scores of 7-6, Fotovatjah notched women’s tennis’ first point of the year. Due to the hard-fought effort against elevated competition — Concordia is in the NCAA’s Division II while Chapman in Division III — she was awarded the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Athlete of the Week award March 22. But despite the individual accomplishment, she gave all credit to her aforementioned support system.

“There were times in the match where ... I felt really frustrated and my teammates were there next to me,” Fotovatjah said. “You’re on the court on your own, but just to have everyone there, it really does help when you know you have a secure team that supports you if you win or lose.”

Fotovatjah started playing tennis at 13 years old, getting more serious about the sport in high school and starting to play tournaments. Even in the beginning of her tennis journey, she credited others for her success. Paul Allam, Fotovatjah’s coach at Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley, greatly influenced her development, she said. 

“He was so talented and he really knew what he was doing, and it was just a great connection that he and I had,” Fotovatjah said. “He made me the player that I am right now.”

Fotovatjah needed a new mentor once she arrived at Chapman. Enter women’s tennis head coach Will Marino. He said he’s watched her grow and improve from her freshman year, and during the stoppage in athletics due to COVID-19, Marino was encouraged by the way Fotovatjah continued to work in the offseason. 

“We’re all really proud of her,” Marino said. “From her freshman year to now, she’s been a big part of our team and she’s gotten better as a singles player and a doubles player.” 

With Fotovatjah motivated by her support system, her team was in turn encouraged by her win. 

“It was a huge deal; we were all so excited because we’re all supportive of one another and want the best for each other,” said Madison Ross, a senior on women’s tennis. “It was also really encouraging because we hadn’t won a match yet and she was our first one to win.” 

Fotovatjah wants to push her team to win the SCIAC championships, with four league matches on the horizon against the less-imposing Division III California Lutheran University. Fotovatjah said she needs to be prepared in all possible facets. And, of course, she’ll lean on her teammates. 

“Playing sports is not just about how fit somebody can be, but about how emotionally prepared you can be, how mentally steady you are, how physically and mentally strong you are too,” Fotovatjah said. “You really have to look all around the athlete. They have their coaches, they have their teammates and they’ve got themselves.”