Freshman "Yolo" Infuses Energy For Huskies
UW Athletic Communications
2/17/2021
SEATTLE – On the court, Yolanda Lin is all about making her opponents uncomfortable, chasing down every ball and then turning the tables to put them on the run. But off the court, comfort is king. Well, the Comfy, that is.
“It’s a Comfy,” says Lin, a proud wearer of the leopard pattern hoodie, similar to the Snuggie and described on the company’s webpage as “The blanket that you wear.”
Lin arrived at the Nordstrom Tennis Center on her bike and in full Comfy glory.
“Definitely coming to college, the fashion choices are not the best, just trying to be comfortable,” she says.
Yolanda, who teammates and coaches all refer to as Yolo, has settled in nicely for the Huskies, as one of three true freshmen to start in singles; half of the entire lineup. Lin has gone 5-0 so far at No. 5 and No. 4 singles, matching the team’s record through the first three weeks of the season.
It’s been an easy transition so far partly because she waited for it for so long.
Coming from nearby Sammamish, Washington, “Yolo” was not really considering the Huskies when she thought about taking her game to college. She had no family ties to the University, and thought she wanted to go somewhere farther away.
“But when I came here, seeing the coaches in action, I just loved how optimistic and high energy they were,” Lin says. “I felt like that was what I was looking for in coaching, and I’ve seen it more up close now being on the team and it’s been amazing. The team culture was really good. Everyone was super competitive, but not against each other, everyone wanted to uplift each other. Of course, having lived here my whole life I love Washington and I love Seattle.”
She quickly made up her mind, and committed to Robin Stephenson over two years ago. With that decision done, Lin returned to the busy life of a student at Skyline High School balancing the extra hours of practice for a DI-bound athlete. When she was young, Lin says she wanted to follow a popular route for junior tennis standouts and study at a tennis academy, but her parents decided to keep her home in Sammamish and Lin now says she’s grateful for that decision. She was still able to build her game up to become a blue chip recruit on TennisRecruiting.net as high as No. 21 nationally in her class.
“I started relatively late, around nine or ten years old, and when I first started I was not very good at all,” says Lin. “But I really loved competing, so I just kept at it. I just love it so much.”
Lin was planning to compete for Skyline for the first time as a senior, but that, like every other senior year plan, was derailed by the Covid pandemic. All the senior year high school rituals had to take place virtually in 2020, and when Lin moved to Seattle, the break from competition continued as the typical fall college season was canceled as well.
However, “Yolo” still found some silver linings amidst all the uncertainty.
“Honestly I’m thankful I had this online experience for my first quarter because I was already struggling to figure out where to go at what time,” she laughs. “Now I just have to think about two places: the tennis center and home.”
The other advantage was that with the need to keep a small and closed-off bubble, the seven members of the team and especially the three freshmen were able to bond as a group that much faster, “and it’s been great to get to know everyone so well,” says Lin.
Lin rooms with the other two freshmen, Sarah-Maude Fortin and Tara Chilton.
Chilton, who came to Seattle from Reno, Nevada, says “It’s been super fun” getting to know Yolanda. “I’m so glad we live together. We can be on court and have a great time then go back to our room and talk about practice or school. I’m really grateful that we’ve been together so much because we’ve really grown a friendship. I try things that I wouldn’t normally do with her.”
One of those new things was helping Lin cut and dye her hair on the most recent of Lin’s hair color changes. Lin decided to start dying a streak of her hair as “a quarantine project” last summer, and has gone through four or five colors thus far, most recently green for Christmastime. Everyone is still waiting for the debut of a purple streak.
Senior Vanessa Wong lights up when discussing her freshman teammate’s style. “Yolo is the best, she always surprises us,” says Wong. “It’s been so much fun getting to know her off the court. She’s an extremely hard worker and very dedicated. On court, amazing teammate, and then off court we always have a good time, a good laugh, she’s hilarious. She’s doing really well for a freshman all around.”
The team culture was really good. Everyone was super competitive, but not against each other, everyone wanted to uplift each other. Of course, having lived here my whole life I love Washington and I love Seattle.Yolanda Lin
One big adjustment for players entering college, and often the most exciting change, is the team dynamic in a mostly individual sport. Having teammates to push her daily in practice and to play for in matches is a thrill for Lin.
“I think it’s great to be playing for something bigger than yourself,” she says. “Being motivated is very important but having people around to push you makes you improve faster and better, so I’m really excited and thankful to be on such a great team.”
Yolo is very Comfy as a Husky.
