Columbus North’s Ashlie Wilson has dreamed of going to Purdue since she was 5 years old.
That dream is now becoming a reality.
The incoming Bull Dogs senior recently made a verbal commitment to continue her academic and tennis career with the Boilermakers.
Wilson’s decision may come as little surprise to those closest to her, as both of her parents and several of her cousins have or are currently attending Purdue. Her mother, Mary Beth played tennis at Purdue and now is the general manager at Tipton Lakes Athletic Club in Columbus.
Ashlie, who has played competitively since she was 7, said she had narrowed her college choices to Purdue, Butler and Belmont. She said her decision was tough to make, but is happy with her choice to join the Boilermakers.
Outside of the family history, Wilson had other reasons why Purdue was the right school for her.
“It’s a really good school, and they have a really good tennis team,” she said. “It’s great to be able to play with them. They’re a really great group of girls.”
Wilson established herself as one of the top tennis players in the state last year as a junior. She finished 20-2 at No. 1 singles and helped the Bull Dogs finish with a 20-3 team record and Conference Indiana, sectional and regional titles. One of her two losses came to Evansville Memorial’s Ellie Myers, an Indiana University commit, in the Jasper Semistate.
Last year, Wilson also won numerous awards for her success on the court. She was named first-team All-State, All-District and All-Conference Indiana. She also was North’s co-captain and was selected Most Valuable Player on the team. She was named The Republic’s Girls Tennis Player of the Year for the second time in three years. Her sophomore year was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19.
Wilson said she has had a great summer of tennis playing in United States Tennis Association (USTA) tournaments. She has one last tournament to play this summer at this weekend’s Midwest Closed event here in Columbus.
Wilson said she’s glad to have gotten her college commitment out the way, and now will look forward to finishing out her Bull Dog career next year.
One of her goals this upcoming spring is to make a deeper run in the postseason tournament after falling short in the semistate last spring.
“It’s definitely a relief of stress just not having to have to worry about it anymore,” she said. “It will definitely allow me to focus on specific things to prepare for college.”
