Serving tennis on and off the court has earned Ida Baker’s Kjerstine Payne a scholarship from the USTA Serves Foundation.

The four-year player for the Bulldogs was granted $6,000 which she will apply to her studies at the University of Florida starting in the fall semester.

Payne plans to major in nursing at UF, but her tennis career is uncertain at this point. She was not offered a tennis scholarship by the Gators.

“I’m going to continue to play, but and probably not professionally,” said Payne. “I want to see how my studies go, but I will consider playing on their intramural team.”

Payne began her playing days eight years ago with coach Bob Nelson’s Clubtennis Junior Academy program. She has spent the past couple of summers working alongside Nelson helping other young kids learn the game of tennis.