Shepard's Hoops Passion Turns into His Tennis Dream

When Ethan Shepard entered high school at Woodrow Wilson, he carried with him aspirations of playing at the collegiate level one day.

That dream came true for the recently graduated senior, it just happened to be in a different sport than what he had originally envisioned.

Hoping one day to play college basketball, Shepard instead found an untapped passion on the tennis court.

"In the offseason between my freshman year and my sophomore year, I played a lot of tennis tournaments and it completely flipped which sport that I wanted to completely focus on," Shepard said. "It was weird making the transition."

Passion for a sport and success operate in two different time zones, however. For Shepard, passion meant a relentless work ethic that transformed him over the next three years into one of the best tennis players in the state of West Virginia.

After finishing runner-up in Class AAA doubles with partner Ram Asaithambi as a junior, Shepard exited high school with more hardware than he could have ever imagined.

A strong senior season culminated with All-State honors in singles and a repeat runner-up effort in doubles. Shepard also helped lead the Flying Eagles to a remarkable runner-up finish in the team competition.

Fighting severe cramps and dehydration in the semifinal round against No. 1 George Washington, Shepard battled through the must-win match to help send Woodrow Wilson to the championship final for the first time in over 60 years.

Wednesday, the journey to the next level officially closed when Shepard signed an Institutional Letter of Intent to play tennis for West Liberty University.

Shepard and Woodrow Wilson head tennis coach Bernard Bostick provided their thoughts after the official signing.

Ethan Shepard

Bernard Bostick