Carrie Moyer was 8 when she first picked up a tennis racquet. Years later, she’s yet to put it down.

The 5.0 League player from York, Pa. played as a junior in central Pa., in college at Syracuse and now in various leagues – competing at the district, sectional and national level.

Needless to say, she enjoys the sport. But even more, she enjoys some of the things that come with it.

“The whole reason I play tennis now is for the friendships that I have,” Moyer said at her team’s recent trip to 18 and Over Section Championships in New Jersey. “I love playing tennis with our friends and then having dinner afterwards. It’s active with something fun at the end.”

Moyer, whose husband also plays frequently, first learned tennis as an 8-year-old while on a family vacation.

“My parents were playing and I asked if I could hit with them,” she said. “They were just hitting the ball around. I kept asking my dad to go hit with me.”

Moyer was hooked, and took her playing to the next level after high school by competing at Syracuse. It took her some time after graduation to rediscover the sport.

“I honestly didn’t realize you could keep playing,” Moyer said. “I quit for a while and then ran into a friend of mine who I had played with. He asked me why I wasn’t playing, and he got me back into playing again. Since then, I’ve been playing, and all of my friends are from tennis now.”

In the recent years, Moyer has competed in mixed and women’s USTA League teams. She’s been to national championships a handful of times, which have created some terrific memories on the court.

Whether she’s playing well or not, however, she’ll continue to come back to the game for the off-the-court reasons.

“You can play at any level and you can play forever,” she said. “At this point, even when we’re doing things that don’t involve tennis, they involve our friends who play tennis.”

For more information about USTA League Tennis or how you can get involved with a league this winter, click here.