Puehse's push to elite play put GCU tennis on map

The brand of Grand Canyon women's tennis unfolded over five years of Natasha Puehse's touch points on the program.

With thousands of impactful moments of her skill, leadership and passion for the program, Puehse is leaving a lasting legacy as more than the Lopes' greatest player ever.

She put love scores on opponents with calculating competitiveness and gave limitless love to a program that she feels loved her back just the same. When this GCU postseason runs ends, Puehse's playing days will end with three WAC Player of the Year awards that helped put her be the Lopes' first nationally ranked player and put GCU as high as the national top 50.

"I've trusted the process for five years and had so much confidence in my tennis and knew that the school could grow and that our team could be recognized as it is now," said Puehse, whose Lope went undefeated in the WAC this season. "I've loved every single second of that."

On her way to a 65-19 collegiate career record entering Friday's WAC Tournament semifinals, Puehse learned to do hard things well, whether it was becoming a more tactical, physical player who controls the court with her ferocious forehand or graduating in Entrepreneurship with magna cum laude honors.

Puehse's trek to becoming an elite college player began with following her older twin brothers into the sport when she was 10. Natasha Puehse and twins

Nic and Tristan were nationally famous for skateboarding as kids. They went on the Ellen DeGeneres Show at ages 8 and 10, signed with Nike and Gatorade and made a 2010 feature film, "Nic & Tristan Go Megan Dega," in which Puehse appears briefly as "bubble gum girl."

The twins shifted to tennis at age 13 when the family lived in South Carolina and she followed them into the sport as the family moved to Scottsdale.

Puehse did not pursue college tennis until less than year before she signed. She was being pursued by Pac-12 programs when then-GCU coach Greg Prudhomme saw her play at a Valley tournament and emailed her father, Michael, to offer a visit. She came, stayed six hours and canceled the next day's trip to Colorado because she had found her home.

Natasha Puehse

The inclusive campus community appealed to her after being home-schooled, but she entered GCU as the shy American freshman with a team of international players. Her first season was cut short by COVID-19 at 5-5, but Prudhomme guided her through the transition to college life and her first taste of team tennis.

"Once you step on the campus, everyone is so friendly and the staff is so welcoming and there are all the events," said Puehse, who lived on campus all five years. "I don't think any other campus is like that. And I love college tennis so much because of the team aspect. I fell in love with college tennis."

Puehse won WAC Player of the Year in her first two full seasons before Prudhomme moved into private coaching and GCU hired Katarina Adamovic to be its first head coach dedicated to only women's tennis in 15 years.

Puehse and Adamovic

In Adamovic's first week on the job in Phoenix, Puehse messaged her asking to practice. It was ideal for Adamovic to see the immediate buy-in from her best player and the early meeting fit how she wants to coach, building friendship and trust before hard coaching.

Despite her success, Puehse listened to new ways that were going to push her to physical and tactical levels she did not know.

"Tash is a very, very unique athlete where she never gives up," Adamovic said. "When you have a big heart and that kind of competitiveness and you add talent, you know what you're getting.

"She realized how much better she could be. Last year, she took that step forward. This year, it just clicked. Putting the team on her back, playing in the toughest spot in the lineup, doing it in such a dominating way. It has been so incredible to watch."

Natasha Puehse

Puehse dominated in wins over ranked Arkansas and Baylor players in February. She won 21 consecutive singles sets at one point. When the streak was broken in a match against Air Force, she roared back with a 6-0 third set.

It was the same sort of turnaround she showed last season, the only year she did not win WAC Player of the Year. The winner, Tarleton State's Emma Persson, evened their WAC Tournament championship round match with a second-set win before Puehse flipped it with a 6-1 final set. That was the difference in the Lopes' 4-3 win that put them in the NCAA tournament.

"She has one of the biggest hearts I've seen," Adamovic said. " I've been in this sport in college for eight years and played for 20 years. You don't come across a player and a person like Tash very often. When you do, it's so special. I learned from her so much in these two years. When you see her belief and confidence, you can't not admire it. I watch from the sideline and am so proud like, 'Wow, this kid is so special.' "

Puehse and Strombacha

Puehse also has teamed with senior Santa Strombacha at No. 1 doubles for three years, going 18-3 with her German partner this season.

"Ever since she got here, we instantly became friends," Puehse said. "We have a mutual respect of one another, and we have learned from one another. She's grown so much since she came her. The love she has for tennis has helped our connection for sure."

The sentimentality of her five-year journey has hit her emotions lately. Her parents have attended every home match. For her final home match last week, her teammates decorated her locker and Adamovic wrote her a poignant letter.

"I think I cried five different times during the day," Puehse said.

Puehse and Adamovic

Knowing her hard work and discipline, Adamovic said her favorite memories have been every time they take the court together. They get to do it this week at the WAC Tournament in Harlingen, Texas, and hope that a repeat title there will return them to the NCAA tournament.

After that, Adamovic hinted that GCU tennis might see more of Puehse in a different capacity next season.

"Since coming here, I've grown so much on and off the court," Puehse said. "I've learned so many things. I love this place. Everybody who knows me knows that. From basically nobody knowing the program to being ranked, it's been awesome to see it grow. The people I've met are unreal."

Phoenix, AZ April 14, 2024 : GCU women's tennis goes undefeated in the WAC after beating UTA 6-1 at the GCU Tennis Facility.. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Natasha Puehse

Santa Strombacha

Related Videos