Tennis Season Preview: Q&A With Mary Brumfield

With the Maryland Terrapin tennis program off to a 1-0 start with a 7-0 win over Georgetown to start the 2023 season, sophomore Mary Brumfield sat down with umterps.com to discuss everything from her tennis origins, to a reflection of her freshman campaign, to a look ahead at the upcoming season. 

Tell us a little about yourself, Mary. 

My name is Mary Brumfield, but I like to go by MJ. I'm from Mississippi, from a small county called Smith county. I am a sophomore this year and undecided in letters and sciences.

How did you get into tennis?

My mom decided that I needed to play a sport because I was a very active child. She just kept putting me in all the sports until I found something that I really liked. It was between basketball and tennis, but I picked tennis.

How do you measure success?

Since I started playing tennis, I've had great success with it. I’ve had to come to terms with being number one before leaving Mississippi and being about top-20 in Florida before going to college. Now, I am ranked top 20 in the nation in doubles. I measure success greatly when it comes to my tennis and Maryland collegiate tennis.

What would you consider to be one of your biggest successes at Maryland?

This year, it was great to go to San Diego and beat UCLA, one of the top colleges in the country. That was pretty significant.

What do you attribute your successes to?

There are a lot of factors. I would say motivation. A lot of motivation to do well for myself and others that are in my life.

Who were some of your role models growing up?

My mom is definitely one of my role models and so is my grandmother. My mom was gone a lot, trying to provide for us. My grandma really did step in and she raised me, and when my mom was there she raised me as well. It's pretty great having that type of system.

Who do you model your game after?

That has varied over the years. Some people say I play like Serena and some people say I play like a man. So I'm gonna say Serena Williams and, if it's on the male side, I would say Dominic Theim.

What goals have you set for yourself this season?

I set the bar pretty high on this one, but my goal is to be a very pumped, energetic MJ out there. I pride myself on being very aggressive and on always bringing the energy to court and playing some pretty good tennis.

How would you describe this Maryland team?

I think we definitely improved from last year, even in the time spent together for this upcoming season. I think we really bonded more. I think that's definitely gonna make us a great team to play against, to compete against.

What are you looking forward to with this upcoming season?

Our coaches said they're going to give us more of a challenge this year since last year we did very well. I'm looking forward to playing some really good colleges like UNC, North Texas, and FIU. Not just staying in one area, but going around, traveling, and playing these great, competitive colleges. With my team, I feel like we can definitely do it. I'm looking forward to this spring season. I think it's gonna be awesome.