Originally a top player in Belgium, Lize Leenknecht, a communication major and tennis team captain, is now a junior at Washington State University and a three-year veteran of the Washington State tennis team. Leenknecht is originally from Kortrijk, Belgium. Over the course of her career she has a record of 44-30 in singles play and 48-25 in doubles for the Cougars. When she came to Pullman as a freshman, Leenknecht left Belgium as the No. 5 overall player in the Belgian junior rankings.

DE: What is your favorite movie?

LL: My favorite movie is “The Last Song.” It’s kind of two stories in one and is really interesting to me. I’ve seen the movie a hundred times and I love the actors, love the concept of it.

DE: In Pullman, where is your favorite to go out to eat?

LL: Black Cypress. I love that place. It’s kind of European-style and I love that!

DE: Who is the funniest person on the tennis team?

LL: I would say Maria (Biryukova) because she laughs a lot and is always really happy. She always makes everybody on the team happy.

DE: What are some of your career and life goals once you graduate?

LL: I want to go back home to Belgium and work for the national TV station there. I want to do sports broadcasting and possibly start doing some coaching back home.

DE: When did you first start playing tennis?

LL: I was four years old, and my sister starting playing tennis. She loved it and my dad was like “You should go too!” so my family encouraged me to start playing.

DE: What are sports you like to play other than tennis?

LL: I like a couple sports. I like cycling, volleyball and soccer. I was in a sports school before I got to Pullman, so I grew up playing those sports.

DE: If you could have any superpower what would it be and why?

LL: I would love to fly. I think it would be so cool to go places nobody else could go and see different things from above.

DE: What is your favorite vacation spot?

LL: I’ve been to Barcelona, Spain and I love that place. The city, I just love it. I definitely want to go there again soon.

DE: What do you believe is your greatest accomplishment?

LL: I think when I named captain of my team that was my biggest accomplishment so far with the tennis team.

DE: What is your favorite memory with the tennis team?

LL: My freshman year we went to Las Vegas. We took a bunch of random videos and the coaches joked with us a lot. We actually made a film called “Cougover” which was like the movie “Hangover” so that was great.

DE: If you were to win the lottery, what would be the first three things you would buy?

LL: I would buy a house, a private plane, and a lot of shoes. I love my shoes so much.

DE: What are some of your hobbies outside of playing tennis?

LL: I like to go to the REC and swim. I love chilling out there, listening to music and watching movies. If I have free time when I’m not studying or with the team that’s what I’m most likely doing.