Freshman tennis athlete Janaya Smith was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 20.

Smith was not expecting this honor, especially this early in her collegiate career.

“It was a bit of a shock really,” said Smith. “It was definitely reassuring to know that my hard work is paying off.”

Head women’s tennis coach Dustin Hinson said he appreciated seeing one of his athletes be recognized in the conference.

“I’m just really proud to have her win that,” said Hinson. “It’s a credit to her working hard from day one getting here at Eastern. It’s just kind of one of those things that just reemphasizes how good it is to work hard.”

In Eastern’s loss against Boise State University, Smith was able to defeat Boise State’s sophomore Milena Toseva, 6-2, 6-2. Smith gave Eastern its only point of the day. She then teamed up with sophomore Erin Blessing in a doubles tennis match where they won, 6-2.

On Jan. 17, Eastern competed against Lewis-Clark State College where the Eagles won, 7-0. Smith had another memorable performance; she earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory in a singles match. Smith again teamed up with Blessing to earn another doubles victory, 6-0.

“To be honest, I wasn’t surprised; I was happy,” said Hinson about the team’s first two competitions in January. “I knew that [Smith] went out there and played the kind of tennis she’s shown she can play, that she would come out on top in those matches. I was happy to see her get that early success because I think it really is helping with her confidence.”

The team played Seattle University in its first home competition of the season on Jan. 30. Despite the loss, Smith had another strong outing. Smith and Blessing defeated the Redhawks’ freshmen Michelle Lui and Kelli Woodman in a doubles match, 6-2. She also defeated Woodman in her third straight singles victory.

Smith is from Kingston, Tasmania, where she was a standout athlete in high school. She was the 2010-2013 winner of the 18U Pardey Shield State School Championship. Smith was undefeated for the span of those four years and played No. 1 singles.

Smith talked about her first year at EWU and how her classes are going.

“[Classes] are going really well, actually,” said Smith. “It’s a bit of a different system; [in Tasmania] it’s completely different. We go straight into our courses, whereas here, you do your [general education requirement classes]. But I find it really interesting, like, I didn’t know anything about American government; I’m learning a lot.”

Smith also compared collegiate competition to competition in high school.

“It’s definitely taken a lot more seriously,” said Smith. “You can see the determination in the other girls when you play them. You can tell that they don’t only want to win for themselves but they want to win for their team. Whereas in high school, it’s kind of a little bit individual. Everyone doesn’t kind of mesh together as a team as much as they do in college.”

Smith explained one goal that she would like to reach by the end of the season.

“I’d like to be really confident, there are still times when I go out on the court and I don’t trust myself 100 percent in my ability,” said Smith. “I would like to be able to be 100 percent confident in myself every time I step out.”