Tessa Blough: 2021 interview with Big Horn Basin Media
Upon completion of the 2023-24 academic year at Concordia University, Nebraska, student-athlete Tessa Blough had a surprise waiting for her. That surprise eventually led to Blough being lauded as National Arthur Ashe Award Winner and the resulting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the US Open in New York City. Along with the other national honorees, Blough lived it up in the Big Apple for a week while watching (and even meeting) some of the best tennis players in the world.
If teammates and classmates are to ask Blough about her summer, she has quite the story to tell. It’s a story Blough never saw coming a few short months ago.
“I didn’t know anything about the (Arthur Ashe) award until I won the regional award,” Blough said. “Coach (Lisa) Hart told me that I won and that I was up for the national award, and I had to write a paper. She was like, ‘I think we need this paper done in like two days.’ It all happened really fast. I didn’t know how to process it. When it was announced that I won the national award, I was very honored and shocked. Here’s this smalltown Cody, Wyoming, girl. I just never thought I’d be up for such a prestigious award. I was very honored and very grateful to be recognized for leadership and sportsmanship qualities.”
Now a senior for Coach Hart’s Bulldog Women’s Tennis team, Blough was named a regional Arthur Ashe Award winner by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on May 6, just after the close of the 2024 tennis season. One week later, Blough was upgraded to a national honoree in recognition of her superior leadership and sportsmanship qualities, as well as her scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. The award is handed out to only one NAIA women’s tennis student-athlete nationally on an annual basis.
A regular in Concordia’s lineup for her entire college career, Blough is studying Psychology and Behavioral Science and represents the Concordia Tennis program on the Bulldog Council of Student-Athletes. She’s also an NAIA Scholar-Athlete who is active in community service and has spent significant time volunteering at Ridgewood Rehab & Care Center in Seward.
Blough’s exceptional qualities as a servant leader make her unique, and so too does her ability to manage a disease called lupus, something she’s dealt with for the past nine years. According to the Mayo Clinic, lupus is “a disease that occurs when your body’s immune system attacks your own tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems – including your joints, skin, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.”
Explains Blough, “It’s been a journey for sure. I’m going on nine years having to deal with it. I kind of know what sets symptoms off and how to manage those symptoms. I’ve gotten pretty good at it. At times I can’t do everything the rest of my team is doing. There are some limitations, but I definitely try to not let lupus come into play in my tennis and athletic life. There are for sure setbacks. Playing in the sun and the heat is very hard for me. It flares up. An outdoor sport in the heat can be hard, but I do my best to work around it.”
On the surface, no one would ever guess that Blough must continually manage a disease that affects about five million people worldwide. That’s because it does not change her attitude or her kind-hearted nature towards others. Following high school graduation, Blough actually took a year off “to take care of her health,” as she told Big Horn Basin Media in 2021. But she wasn’t going to let lupus stop her from earning a college scholarship or from pursuing her passion.
Over time, Blough has learned strategies for keeping her condition at bay. Blough was 14 when she says she first started feeling extreme fatigue. Some days she simply stayed in bed and slept and then large bruises appeared on her arms and legs and sharp joint pain followed. After her freshman season of high school tennis, in response to prolonged sickness, Blough was diagnosed with lupus. The condition changed the way she had to operate. Her routine now involves medication, being especially careful about her diet and keeping as cool as she can on sultry hot days on the tennis court.
Said Blough in that same interview with Big Horn Basin Media, “I will not let lupus take me away from the things that I love. I want to prove to others and to myself – don’t let anything hold you back.” Blough’s perseverance and positive outlook have allowed her to gain the respect of her teammates. When Blough posted photos from her trip to the US Open, her teammates expressed genuine happiness for her.
Wrote one teammate, “You deserve all of this and so much more. You’re an amazing teammate and leader and an even better friend.”
As children of all ages and skill levels gathered at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the 2024 Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, they were met by an exemplary role model in Blough. By Blough’s count, there were roughly 500 children that showed up on Aug. 24 to share their love of the game with the Arthur Ashe award winners. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association chronicled the event with photos that depicted Blough demonstrating how to serve while also clapping, smiling and laughing along with the attendees.
As wide-eyed as some of the children may have been, Blough seemed to experience similar feelings as she found herself up close and personal with some of the sport’s greats. Blough and her parents spent extra time in New York City to soak up the action on the court.
“I got to see a lot of my favorite players,” Blough said. “Aryna Sablenka – No. 2 in the world – I’ve been a huge fan of her for years. My parents and I got to go to her match on Monday (Aug. 26) and Wednesday (Aug. 28). Being able to see her up close and watch – I was trying to take it all in. I was trying to learn and hopefully be able to apply it to my game. I got to talk to some of the players when they got done practicing. I got to talk to Sofia Kenin and walked past some other players. I saw (Novak) Djokovic play and some other big names too.”
The Sunday before classes began at Concordia, Blough attended a banquet that she called “very inspiring.” She accepted her Arthur Ashe award at the banquet and posed with the winners from the other levels of collegiate tennis. During portions of the weekend, Blough proudly wore the Concordia colors. It’s a place she came to, at least in part, because of her family history. Her uncle and cousin attended Concordia.
“I wanted to mention how grateful I was to represent Concordia during my time there,” Blough said. “This college has made such a huge impact on me, so being able to represent Concordia in such a great way was so amazing.”
Back in Nebraska, Coach Hart looked on proudly. Coach Hart had taken the initiative to nominate Blough for the award and set in motion the trip to New York City. As Hart explained of Blough, “Tessa epitomizes what being a student-athlete should be about. Her sportsmanship on and off the court is an example for everyone to follow. She is the definition of a servant leader, always putting her teammates above herself. She is a wonderful ambassador of our University, and I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to coach her.”
The feeling is mutual from Blough, who will always be grateful for her week at the US Open. She is humbled by the recognition, but also honored to be thought of as a leader and a champion for sportsmanship. The attention is something she likely never had thought possible.
“When I got the email saying they were sending me to New York City, I was very excited,” Blough said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to go to the US Open. Being able to go to the US Open this way was even bigger … The importance of leadership and sportsmanship is definitely recognized. To win this award made me realize that people see it. Going forward in life, being a good leader in whatever I end up doing is important. People are watching and your actions matter.”