Finding Everything She Needs in a Place She Wants
Ecton's return home will benefit the tennis program on multiple fronts
Mike Brohard
Her list was filled with needs, not wants.
Granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the global pandemic, Ky Ecton didn’t want to just use it, she wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity.
Naturally, the academic aspect came first for her, as she was already armed with a degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering from Colorado. She wanted to join a tennis program which was competitive after facing top-level talent in the Pac-12 for four years. She wanted to join a program which wanted more than the player she has been, but the player she could still become.
When she decided to enter the portal to announce she’d leave after her senior season, the advice a coach gave her was to find a list of places she felt she would be comfortable living for a year. And the adventurous side of Ecton was open to any place on the map. For the self-described homebody, there was a tinge of excitement in exploring somewhere new.
So naturally, she came home.
“The education here stood out to me knowing that my grandfather taught here, my dad taught here, my cousin went here, my sisters went here,” Ecton said. “That was amazing when Coach Mai-Ly Tran reached out to me, and then the tennis, obviously they had an unbelievable season last year. That stood out to me, being that it was a competitive program. I mean, they beat CU for the first time.
“It was after I realized it has the education that I want, the program that I want and it’s at home, it wasn’t really too hard of a choice for me.”
A perfect package, neatly wrapped with a great big bow.
Great for Ecton, but her return should also be a huge gift for Colorado State women’s tennis, not just on the court, but the great big community embrace the program is about to receive. The Ecton name is synonymous with the sport in Fort Collins, as Tran is piece-by-piece beginning to learn.
If you play tennis in town, you know the Ectons. Probably the sisters – Kwynn, Kayl and Koy. And maybe through the years you picked up on each having a K and a Y in their name. Or the fact their names get shorter down the list. By the time they had Ky, they had no other choice in what to name her.
Or you know their mother, Laura. See, Laura has not only been the Poudre High School coach for more than three decades donning a cowboy hat, she coached at the country club for 10 years, too. She runs youth camps every summer, and her daughters were either players or helpers. And she runs adult programs, too.
Then add on their grandmother, Evie Hoeven, and her late husband, Jim (who was a professor at CSU) have been heavily involved in not only the sport but the university. The courts Ky will play on this spring – and Kwynn before her from 2013-15 – are dedicated in their honor. To earn favor, one of their father Kraig’s first dates with Laura was playing tennis.
The Ectons are virtually tennis in Fort Collins.
“It’s just been a wonderful journey. When my husband and I first dated, that was one of our dates,” Laura said. “I went out and taught him how to play tennis, and he giggles now he was a great student and really tried to learn the game. It was one of the sports besides skiing that’s really pulled our family together and it’s an opportunity for us to do things together and support one another.”
It’s exciting that not only will they come and support me because they know me, but also the program, because it is doing so well and is definitely on the rise.Ky Ecton
Kayl, who is working toward her Ph.D. at CSU, has been Laura’s assistant coach for more than five years now. And ever since it became known Ky was joining the program, the family phones have been lighting up.
When Tran took over the program last year, she worked extremely hard to make inroads into the community. Volunteer assistant Scott Langs helped, as he was already a familiar face in town. Tran reached out to anyone and everyone, and if a new face showed up at an event, practice or a match, she was there to greet them and say thanks for their support.
She’s about to shake a lot more hands.
“My teachers from middle school and high school have reached out and asked for the schedule. They want to come and support me,” Ky said. “They always supported me at CU, but it’s just different now that it’s in town, a 5-minute drive from their homes. My mom’s been running tennis camps since I was super young and I’ve helped her out with them, and all these juniors who want to come watch me play, or the ladies groups who my mom has coached. It is like a family tennis community. I have my family, and then I have my family tennis community.
“It’s exciting that not only will they come and support me because they know me, but also the program, because it is doing so well and is definitely on the rise.”
Which is one of the reasons Ky decided to talk to Tran. Really, it was the second box which needed to be checked.
The first was academics. Getting an engineering master’s requires more than a year, and she also wanted to expand her horizons and diversify her resume. Finance became her target, as it was knowledge she would always use down the road. The fact grandpa taught at the school, and her dad earned his Master’s in Business Administration at CSU gave the notion a neat symbolism.
The second was the program. She has seen the best in the country, and she had no intention of joining a team which didn’t carry high expectations. As the fall season progressed, she took note Colorado State was doing things it had never done before. She had faced them in early tournaments and really was wowed by the two CSU doubles teams which reached the ITA Mountain Regional finals, playing against one another.
Another box checked.
From the other side, Tran just wanted the player. She had watched Ky play at the Bedford Cup last year, winning a singles match against the Rams, and before the fall slate was through, they’d seen her play doubles against the Rams. Both she and assistant Taylor Hollander were impressed, not just with her level of tennis, but her potential and her enthusiasm.
“I think it was a really easy decision for Taylor and me once we got to know her and what a big leader she is,” Tran said. “She had a really big impact on the CU team. She played at the No. 6 position on occasion and had wins against Pac-12 opponents. She had high-level conference experience, she’s a team player and she would be a great leader. It’s a bonus she’s a local kid.”
Tran sold Ky on everything the team had not done already. It was in their conversations she learned more about her new coach and what she saw for her future. It wasn’t just to come in a play the way she had but get better. Ky came to believe she would be joining a program on the rise, one she felt could challenge for a conference title. Home or not, if she didn’t believe Tran was turning the program around, she wouldn’t be here.
The more Ky listened, she picked up on the standards Tran had set and expected. She could tell she was tough and had rules, and Ky like rules. She also could sense Tran was going to be supportive every step of the way, coaching her by building up and not tearing down.
It’s the way Laura coaches, too. Ky thrives in those situations. Speaking as a mom, and a bit of a tennis coach, Laura thinks there’s one really big reason her daughter came home.
It was Tran.
“I need to put huge credit to Mai-Ly and who she is as a person and the connection she made with Ky, because she made Ky feel at home, and that’s what brought Ky to CSU,” Laura said. “It’s not the family. It’s a wonderful place to live, but it was more about the coach, the environment and really getting to enjoy one more year. Then the benefit is it is at home.”
Coming home isn’t anywhere close to pressure for Ky. She’s already acted out the scene.
She won the Colorado 5A state championship in back-to-back years, in 2017-18. She first made it a goal after watching Natalie Dunn do it for Poudre almost 10 years prior. The little tagalong suddenly had a purpose. She still does, even after four years of college tennis.
Tran has seen it already in workouts with the Bedford Cup coming up Sept. 15-18 at the Air Force Academy.
“She’s put her head down and worked really hard and supports her teammates,” Tran said. “She’s the first one to practice, and she’s the first to speak up in support of our players. Sarah (Weekley) is one of our younger ones, and she encourages her if she’s ever doubting herself. She’s a very positive person, and you can tell she’s extremely driven. She wants to do well.”Ky committed around Thanksgiving, staying with Weekley, Radka Buzkova and Sarka Richterova, so she knew some of the team. But before becoming a Ram, she had to face them one more time. The day was historic for Colorado State, as the Rams posted the first win over Colorado in program history, a 4-2 dual win clinched by Buzkova’s win at No. 1 singles.
But the matches were tight, even the doubles one Ky and her partner lost that day. Not playing singles, she was the loudest Buff on the court during those singles matches. Irritating, even.
“It was funny. One of my good friends was playing, I think she was playing Somer (Dalla-Bona) at 4 and I got pretty loud,” Ky said. “I was one of the loudest on the team, and we’d be screaming back and forth. It’s still a thing today. They make fun of me, because they’re like, you were so annoying. We’re glad you’re on our team now because you were so loud. It gets to people. It’s better when it on your side.
“I look forward to it. Even at practice with the energy when you’re saying, ‘Let’s go Rams, let’s go State,’ we feed off each other. A lot of the newcomers, once we get into match play it will be fun, to be loud together and enjoy each other.”
The fans will likely take care of the rest, and the Ectons will not be alone in supporting Ky and her new team. No, they expect to have plenty of friends with them. It makes Ky’s return special for all of them, as the family and extended family will see a lot more of each other.
The first phase of the reunion should take place with the return of the Jon Messick Invitational Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at the CSU Tennis Complex. While the full schedule has yet to be finalized, the Rams are looking at eight more home dates after, four of them conference matches. Last year, home matches forced indoors at the Fort Collins Country Club were well attended. This year, fans may just have to get there a lot earlier if they want to get inside.
“We are all very, very excited. As you know, tennis has been in the family from before I started having kids,” Laura said. “They grew up with me and Poudre tennis, and as the girls started playing, Ky got to tag along and watch all of her big sisters play. She just couldn’t wait to be part of the Poudre tennis team, so I think it’s come full circle in that now the older sisters get to go watch Ky play. It means a lot to everybody. We’re all very excited to celebrate her in her final year.”
With family ties to the university, the place always had a feeling of home for Ky. It just wasn’t for her at the time when she came out of high school. Now, she is at a different stage of her life, and honestly, so is Colorado State’s tennis program.
The town has always been home. The university and the program hit her the same way almost immediately.
“It’s pretty exciting. I didn’t realize it until I was like, I’m going to CSU,” Ky said. “My sisters went here, and it’s always been a family thing; Colorado State has always been in the family. Even my first day walking on campus, I was like, this is amazing, getting to be a student at the hometown school. I’d never really imagined that.”
There may not have been a need to come home when it all started, but now that Ky is back, it almost feels like all she’s ever wanted.