When Kristen Ortman left her Buffalo home to sign her letter of intent at American University, she thought her tennis career in Western New York was over. After arriving at American and being told her scholarship was no longer there, she found herself on the phone with former Buffalo women's tennis coach Kathy Twist.
Upon the conclusion of the conversation, Ortman decided she would give the Bulls a shot for one season and weigh her options after the year.
It took until just her 13th career match to realize she was where she belonged.
Ortman was competing in the second singles event against Miami Ohio. The RedHawks -one of Buffalo's biggest Mid-American Conference rivals - were always a big game, but for her it was personal.
She was facing a team that only offered her a partial scholarship.
Buffalo lost the match - as it often did during Ortman's early playing career - but Ortman won. She was the only Bull to emerge victorious in the match and she wanted more. Her eyes were set on the entire MAC. She wanted to return the favor to the school that had helped her out in a pinch: UB.
"Miami had only offered me half a scholarship and that really irritated me," Ortman said. "I wanted Buffalo to get so good that we are winners. We are the school that people want to go to."
The match against Miami Ohio took place nearly 10 years ago to the day. Today, Ortman is still in blue and white.
Ortman was a member of the Buffalo women's tennis team from 2002-06. A Buffalo native, she graduated from Amherst High School and left UB leading the women's tennis program in singles and doubles victories with 59 in each. She was also named an Academic All-MAC player in 2006.
On Aug. 23, 2012, she was named the interim head coach for the same team she played on, taking over for Twist, who was promoted to senior associate athletic director following 16 years at the helm of the women's tennis program.
Ortman's Buffalo story never would have happened if it wasn't for two things - rejection and Twist.
Following Ortman's senior season in high school, she decided she wanted to play away from home. After a long recruitment process, she finally decided on American University in Washington, D.C. When she went to the school to sign her letter of intent, however, she was told the school had changed athletic directors and her scholarship was no longer available.
Ortman was devastated. She had told family, friends and other universities she was going to American. Still eager to play tennis in college, she called Twist, who was the "only reason [she] chose to go to UB."
"I was discouraged [after losing my scholarship]," Ortman said. "I had finally made up my mind and saw myself somewhere. I knew Buffalo was always an option, but at that point it was at the bottom of the MAC. I wanted to win. I wanted to be somewhere that was proven already."
The Bulls went 20-65 and 1-35 in MAC competition the four seasons before Ortman joined the team.
That was the culture Ortman was destined to change.
The Bulls improved every year over her four years playing at Buffalo. The win totals increased from six as a freshman to 16 in her senior season. In Ortman's junior season, 2004-05, the Bulls had their first winning season since 1996.
Her senior year, however, was when the Bulls showed they were on the verge of history.
In 2005-06, the women's tennis team went 16-5 and won seven of its first eight games of the season. The Bulls finished 6-2 in MAC play and went to the final game of the MAC Tournament before losing to Western Michigan.
Upon graduation, Ortman decided again it was time for her to leave Buffalo. She had applied to grad schools and was ready to enroll before matters out of her control struck again. This time, her mother passed away and another opportunity emerged for her at UB.
"I needed to stay for family and I got into the program I applied for at UB, which was higher education administration," Ortman said. "UB has a really great program, so I said: 'This is a good fit.' Along with that, I got the [graduate assistant position for the tennis team] and after being so close my senior year - losing in the championships - I had that much of a motivation to come back. I wanted to finish this. I want to get to the best."
In her first two seasons as a graduate assistant, she helped in many off-the-court areas, such as scheduling, booking travel arrangements and other administrative duties. She was never far from the court and continued learning. She also had her hand in not only Buffalo women's tennis history but school history.
In 2006, Buffalo earned its first-ever MAC Championship. Ortman remembers the team being down every single round of the tournament, including down 3-0 in the championship against Western Michigan, before winning the final four matches and securing the Bulls' first MAC title.
Afterward, she was promoted to an assistant coaching position and following Twist's promotion, Twist said it was a no-brainer who should succeed her.
"I was very aware that she knew the game," Twist said. "She was very good at the Xs and Os of tennis. She was also very good at understanding the technique and the skills you need as a tennis player, like how you hit a forehand or a volley, and also she was very mentally tough."
Twist believed Ortman possessed all the necessary off-the-field credentials that go along with being a head coach.
"Whether you are going out to a function or in Wegmans, you are wearing the blue and white that says tennis on it and it has to be understood by you that you are representing the university every single day of your life," Twist said. "And I felt coaching-wise for the team and the presence of her in the community as our coach would be outstanding."
On the court, Ortman's Bulls made Twist look like a genius for her decision, starting the season 10-0. Following a recent three-game losing streak, Buffalo responded with a victory in its last match, bringing its record to 11-3 and 2-3 in MAC play.
Ortman's players have thrived with the opportunity to learn from one of the best players in program history.
"She really knows all of the players we are playing and the strategies that are going to work and what's not going to work," said junior Tanvi Shah. "She really helps us get ready for every match."
Ortman has cemented her legacy as a player, but her goals at UB have yet to be reached.
As she told herself after her freshman season, she wants to make this program one that people both respect and fear, and her job is not yet finished.
"I want to succeed here," she said. "I want to win championships here and right now I am happy here. We still have work to do - we have yet to win that championship."
Even though Ortman may have tried to leave Buffalo before, she has no plans of leaving anytime soon.
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
Photo: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
