When BYU's Kendall Kovick and Gracie Levelston stepped onto the court at the Mountain Regional Doubles Championships, they weren’t just chasing a title —they were showing their resilience.
Kovick and Levelston, the senior and junior leaders of the BYU women’s tennis team, took the court with a mindset of playing freely and enjoying the opportunity to play the sport they love.
“I’ve had a few people ask me, ‘Oh, you guys won. Like, was that expected?’” Kovick said. “In a way, yes. But I think what was really fun for me was I didn’t go in with that mindset. This is my last year, and I really just wanted to do as good as I could and just have fun.”
Kovick reflected on her experience last year, where it felt different in doubles. She recalled how last year she and her partner were the No. 1 seed.
“It was expected of us to win, and we didn’t,” she said. “I don’t really want to have that expectation this year, just because it didn’t turn out last year.”
Kovick just wants to enjoy her senior season as much as possible and not worry about any expectations. That mindset, she said, has enabled her to play freely and perform at her best on the court.
Her doubles partner, Levelston, agrees. She says their coaches paired them together specifically to give them the best chance at qualifying for nationals.
“We’d actually never played together before. Kendall and I weren’t always best friends, so last year it wasn’t really an option to put us together. But I feel like we’ve come a long way and now we’re almost too attached at the hip, and she probably wishes I wasn’t, but it’s fine," Levelston joked.
It’s hard to imagine Kovick and Levelston not getting along. Their chemistry on the court is undeniable, but it’s just as strong off it. The two are close friends who keep things light with plenty of jokes, sharing a love for the game and a growing record of success.
However, this connection almost didn’t happen. Both transferred from different schools before attending BYU, and they had each seriously considered stepping away from tennis altogether.
For Levelston, her journey included sky-high expectations, of which she had done a pretty good job of meeting. She was a No. 2 recruit in her tennis class at one point, and she was also training with the national team. However, injuries began to pile up, increasing the difficulty of satisfying these expectations.
Levelston ended up at UCF, where the injury bug continued to bite. After a mentally and physically exhausting season, Levelston decided to leave UCF.
“After leaving UCF, I wasn’t gonna play anymore,” Levelston said. “I’m done. I’ve struggled with injuries enough, I’ve struggled mentally enough, I don’t really need any more of this.”
In her mind, she had already quit for about four months, a time during which she worked two jobs and surfed. However, something was missing. She felt as though she had no direction, and so she almost joined the military — specifically Psychological Operations. She had everything ready, including passing the tests, and only had to submit her application to get started, but decided that it wasn’t for her.
“When it came down to it, I didn’t feel like that was God’s plan for me,” she said. “I ended up picking up my racket, and I was having a lot of fun.”
Levelston ultimately entered the transfer portal, where she took a visit to BYU and knew immediately that it was the right place for her. For Levelston, BYU checked off three boxes: A good support staff, a location she wanted to live and a place where she could develop as a person. Levelston joined the team before the 2024-2025 season.
Kovick also faced similar obstacles. After two years at West Virginia, she wasn’t the same wide-eyed freshman who stepped onto campus full of excitement. After suffering injuries during her sophomore year, causing her to sit out, she lost her passion for tennis. During this time, her mental health spiraled; she attributed this to what she described as a toxic environment.
“I had pretty much decided that I was going to move home, transfer there, finish my degree without tennis and put that behind me,” Kovick said. “Because it was not fun anymore, and it had really just completely taken over my life for the worst.”
After returning home, she recalled hitting around with friends for fun and how she felt afterward. In her car, she said to herself, “This sport is not what’s completely broken me. It’s everything else around me.”
She decided that she would try the transfer portal, and BYU coach Holly Hasler was the first to reach out.
Kovick had known Hasler for years before she went to college, as she was being recruited, and she knew many of the team members, too. She said one of the main things that made BYU where she wanted to be was what the coaches wanted.
“They were very adamant [about wanting] great people here, and great tennis players after that,” Kovick said. “I had never really had that mindset before. My whole life, tennis was always the first thing.”
She loves being in a place where she feels valued as a person as much as a tennis player.
As Kovick and Levelston continue to prepare for nationals, the wins are just part of what they’re collecting. For Kovick, that means keeping the ball from each match point — a small reminder of every moment she almost gave up, but didn’t. For Levelston, it’s the friendships and laughter she’s found again in the game.
They both came to BYU looking for a new start. What they found is something even better: a reason to stay.