Shockers basketball players ace team-building night with help of Wichita’s Katie Swan

With 11 new players scheduled to be on its roster, the Wichita State men’s basketball team is taking advantage of every team-building activity it can this summer.

The latest might have been the most challenging yet, as the players and coaches had fun this week on a tennis court trying to return the serve of Katie Swan, a 19-year-old Wichita native who just won a match at Wimbledon.

“We thought it would be fun to see if anybody could return her serve,” said JR Simon, a graduate assistant. “It was hilarious seeing some of those guys think they could easily do it, then they get back there and that thing is coming 115 mph or something like that.”

Some of the hilarious swings and misses by the basketball players were recorded by WSU senior Markis McDuffie, who put it on his Instagram feed. He admitted he had to give up after seeing one serve by Swan, who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets.

“She had a heater and everything,” McDuffie said. “You watch it from the sidelines and it don’t look that fast until you start playing against her. I had no chance. I just had to put the (racket) down and let someone else do it.”

The only player or coach who managed to return Swan’s serve was Simon.

“I got lucky enough one time to get some contact and hit it back,” Simon said. “There may have been some jokes about how she couldn’t handle me.”

Swan said the entire evening hanging out and playing with the team was fun, an invitation she more than happily accepted from WSU head coach Gregg Marshall.

The two are actually neighbors (Swan’s family moved to Wichita in 2013 from Great Britain) and Swan is the same age as Marshall’s daughter, Maggie, who traveled to watch her play in last year’s Wimbledon.

“My family has season tickets and when I’m home, I try to go to the games whenever I can,” Swan said. “I’m not home a lot since I’m playing all the time, but when I do get to go it is special and I really enjoy it.”

As for her experience with the basketball team on the tennis court?

“There was definitely some room for some improvement,” Swan said laughing. “But I think it was really good fun and they all enjoyed it.”

For Wichita State, it was another memorable team-building moment.

And for Swan, she hopes she gained a few new fans. After all, her Wimbledon victory has shot her up to No. 176 in the world.

“They were talking about Serena (Williams) a lot, so hopefully they’ll want to watch more women’s tennis and maybe follow me some time,” Swan said. “I

This story was originally published July 19, 2018 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Shockers basketball players ace team-building night with help of Wichita’s Katie Swan."