Stanford Is Next For Santa Monica’s Hansen:

Until now, Logan Hansen has been known as a local tennis star – born and raised in Santa Monica, winner of a CIF individual championship as a junior at Brentwood School, and ranked Number Two in all of Southern California in the 18 and under division when she was 16.Now she’s about to add something else to her resume – college tennis player.Hansen is two months away from beginning her freshman year at Stanford, which is a perennial national power and recruits only elite prospects.“My first goal is to help Stanford win the NCAA championship next season.” said Hansen. “There are three of us coming in and I know the other girls and the returning players. We should have an outstanding team.”Hansen says it’ll be a challenge just to compete against such talented teammates in practice. How she fits in will depend on several factors, including how much she’s bothered by a pesky wrist injury.She’s had it for awhile and has been told it’s tendonitis, Hansen says the pain lingers for awhile, goes away, then comes back. Other players have similar pain which may be caused by using the Western grip – an occupational hazard.An individual goal for the first year would be to become one of Stanford’s top six players, which would allow her to play singles.Although some players her age practice hour upon hour, Hansen lives a balanced life. She was an outstanding high school student and sang in the school choir. This summer she’ll play in a few tournaments but primarily rest for the college season.“Tennis took a back seat in the last year,” she said. “I wanted to enjoy my senior year in high school after working so hard at tennis since I was four years old.“Some of my friends are applying to colleges but I have that out of the way and it feels good.”Logan was named Brentwood’s top female athlete and was honored with the school’s top male athlete, Mason Moss, the quarterback on the Eagles’ league champion football team.Hansen’s sister, Austin, played at Virginia. She was good enough to earn a college tennis scholarship but Logan, at 5-foot-9, 145 pounds and possessing a strong serve, has shown greater promise.Logan has won 10 national junior tournaments and was ranked the Number Five college prospect in the United States.The last time the Mirror featured the Hansen sisters in an article was in January, 2007. At that time Sue Hansen, the girls’ mother, explained the family’s strategy.“We were approached by the tennis academies when Logan was 13,” said Sue. “But I didn’t like the odds because there are so many players trying to make it at that age.”Girls who choose the tennis academies live there and are educated, but the emphasis is clearly on tennis.“We decided not to do that,” said Sue. “We’re trying to strike a balance between tennis and school. Since I enjoyed playing in college (Florida) I wanted my daughters to have the opportunity to enjoy the sport.“But we never belonged to a club. The wonderful Parks and Recreation program allowed our family to play the girls, my husband Stuart and I played at Memorial Park and Reed Park.” Few star players stay in college for four years because they develop faster by going on the pro tour to face stronger competition. It remains to be seen how long Logan will play for Stanford but now she’s looking forward to September, student orientation and her next tennis journey.