Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Bielik Reflects on Memorable Wake Forest Career
9/21/2021 10:44:00 AM | Women's Tennis, Les Johns
One of the best student-athletes to ever don the Old Gold and Black, Bea Bielik reflects on her time at Wake Forest.
This piece is part of a series of stories to celebrate 50 Years of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics at Wake Forest, presented by Blue Cross NC.
By any objective measure, Wake Forest women's tennis player Bea Bielik had a historic junior season in 2002, winning an NCAA Singles Championship and earning numerous end-of-season awards.
Bielek was awarded the prestigious Marge Crisp Award as the top Wake Forest female student-athlete. She was also named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Female Athlete of the Year and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Player of the Year. Her NCAA title gave her the right to play in the 2002 U.S. Open as well.
It's one of the greatest seasons of achievement for any Wake Forest student-athlete.
"I had a lot of great individual achievements, but I would give it all back if we could have won a national championship as a team," Bielik said. "That just would have been the ultimate for me. I'm certainly super proud of everything I achieved on an individual level, but I always wanted that team title."
In 2002, the Demon Deacons advanced to the Elite Eight, winning two dual matches in Winston-Salem before defeating Texas 4-2 in the Sweet Sixteen. But eventual national runner-up Florida knocked Wake Forest out 4-0 to end the run.
Bielek's journey to Wake Forest began with a visit to campus that stayed in her thoughts as she continued her college search.
"I was recruited by a bunch of schools and went on a variety of recruiting trips," she said. "When I went to Wake Forest, I instantly knew it was a fit for me, given what I believed I wanted to do — which is pursue a professional career. To have the environment that would give me a great balance between athletics and academics decided it.
"The people I met that weekend, the support staff, everybody in the athletic department and the team at the time; it was just the right fit. I knew leaving that weekend that it was where I wanted to be."
When Bielik arrived at Wake Forest, the Deacs had claimed five individual ACC women's tennis titles in the previous three seasons.
"We had a stacked team, from the time I got on campus," she said. "If everyone had stayed, I certainly think we would have won a National Championship. From top-to-bottom, we were going to be tough to beat. We were a stacked team and a hard-working group."
The daily internal competition on the practice courts and the training room led to great results for Bielik.
"We were one of the most physically fit teams in the country," she said. "We could go against anybody at any time. The sky was the limit for us. Practices every day were intense. Everybody there was intense and competitive. Everybody wanted to be the top dog. You really got pushed everyday.
"It was a great balance of being able to compete against each other, but also being teammates. It ultimately made our matches against other schools easier to overcome, because we had those challenges in practice. That was a huge advantage for us."
After dealing with a shoulder injury as a freshman, Bielik devoted even more of her time to fitness. At six-feet tall, her size, strength and speed gave her both a physical and mental edge on the court.
"After my sophomore year I decided to stay on campus during the summer," Bielik said. "A bunch of the girls did as well. The catalyst in my career has always been my fitness. I'm a taller player, so I needed to accentuate my serve and my forehand — that was always a big thing. So that summer I raised my fitness level that much more, then went into the fall with a lot of confidence. When you're confident on the court, good things are going to happen.
"When I went onto the court, I had an advantage against everyone mentally. I was able to play on that and be successful that year. It was a fantastic year in a lot of ways — in singles, doubles and team play. It was a memorable year."
By the time the 2002 season began, Bielek was one of the top players in the country and someone every opponent knew about before squaring off on the tennis court.
"We all face these situations in any sport when you're competing against someone who is ranked in a higher position and is more acclaimed and earns more press — whether professional or collegiate," Bielik said. "It's in your head a little bit. I was ranked No. 1 or 2 in singles going into the season, so your opponents know that they're playing the No. 1 player in the country. That's an advantage. Then the physical weapons help me as well."
Like most other Wake Forest student-athletes, time management skills were developed — out of pure necessity, during her time as a Demon Deacon.
"I was busy," Bielik said. "Everybody there is so wonderful, warm and loving. You're sort of growing up, and going through a lot as a young adult. It was a great environment, but really busy. We were away every weekend in the spring. It was a unique bubble as a student-athlete and as a higher-ranked individual tennis player. It was all about managing time, school and sleep; and then occasionally having some fun socially. I think it was the right environment for me.
"My experience at Wake Forest with my coaching staff and my teammates was some of the best times of my life, and I'll never forget it."
Bielik was absolutely dominant once she advanced to the national semifinals, winning the final two matches in her championship run 6-1, 6-0; then 6-2, 6-0.
"My motivation throughout my career was to do as much as I could to help Wake Forest women's tennis," she said. "It's an individual sport, and a selfish sport by nature, but I embraced the team-aspect while at Wake Forest. In many ways it was my happiest years on the tennis court, because you have people to share that experience with. I just wanted to do well and win for Wake Forest. When we stepped out on the court for a team match, I wanted to handle my business — which means I would win the doubles point with Janet [Bergman] and then win my singles match.
What happened on the individual level was secondary to me. But I knew I'd done the work to succeed, and it paid off."
