Natalie Beazant’s journey as a collegiate student-athlete began at an early age when she first picked up a tennis racket at three years old. Her father had always loved tennis but never played. Beazant, a native of Leigh, England, recalled her father handing her a racket in the garden and tossing her a few balls. She quickly displayed a knack for the game, began working with a coach and at age 11, moved to Florida to further her tennis aspirations.
Her family relocated to Florida where Beazant attended IMG Academy - her mom and younger brother went with her, while her father would go back and forth to England. Beazant said she felt very lucky to have her family move halfway around the world to support her tennis career. The opportunity to balance playing tennis while attending school was easier for her in the United State versus England.
Ironically while living in America, she met the person that was instrumental in her collegiate career at a junior tournament at Wimbledon. That person was Rice head women’s tennis coach Elizabeth Schmidt. The two developed an instant connection and that marked the beginning of the recruiting process for Beazant and a friendship that continues to this day.
When Beazant stepped foot on the Rice campus, she said it just felt like home.
“That has a lot to do with the people who are at Rice,” said Beazant. “It’s a beautiful place to be and the people there made it feel like home for me.”
Beazant would go on to flourish at Rice, both academically and with the women’s tennis team. Her accolades make her one of the most decorated women’s tennis players in Conference USA history and last summer she became the first women’s tennis player to be selected for the C-USA Hall of Fame. During her time at Rice from 2012-15, the Owls won three championships in four title-match appearances, while Beazant was two-time C-USA Player of the year, four-year All-Conference performer, three-time NCAA qualifier in singles and doubles, two-time All-American and earned the Outstanding Player of the C-USA Championship on four occasions. She also spent a majority of that time in the ITA national rankings. She was a member of the Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Tennis All-Academic team and an ITA Scholar-Athlete. She capped off her senior season with the Joyce Pounds Hardy award as Rice’s top female student-athlete.
Beazant not only loved tennis, but the entire experience of being a student-athlete.
“I loved being on a team which was something I had never been on before. I had gone from playing an individual sport to being on a team. I loved that part. I just loved the whole experience you get being a student athlete,” she recalled. “You make so many friends who – you end up becoming friends with another set of athletes and learning more about their sport that I never knew before. The whole set of relationships that you make being a student athlete – not just your team – it’s just a one of a kind experience. Looking back on my four years at Rice and being a student-athlete there was some of the best times I have ever had.”
She attributes much of her success on the court to being part of a team.
“I went from playing an individual sport to playing on a team and I think for me, it brought out the best in me because I had some amazing people around me and no matter what was going on in my match, I always knew you had seven or eight other girls literally trying to pull me through that match,” described Beazant. “I think for me, playing for something bigger than myself, being able to wear Rice on my shirt that for me was one of the biggest honors that I think I could ever have. And I think it made me a much better player because of that.”
Beazant credits Rice and the coaching staff for providing a healthy environment that allowed her to thrive. She said that even though it was natural to feel pressure because she wanted to win, there was never a point at which she did not truly enjoy playing tennis.
Schmidt found in Beazant the intangible things you are always looking for in coaching players.
“Natalie was so competitive but she was so selfless and would do anything she could to help her team no matter what,” stated Schmidt. “The characteristics of Natalie that stood out to me are her gratitude – she was so grateful be a part of Rice and our team and just grateful for the experience. Another was her positive attitude. Natalie made others around her better because she was so positive. And finally I think she had an enormous amount of grit. In four years you go through a lot of ups and downs and no matter if it was up or down she was fighting and her grit was awesome. She was just a joy to coach.”
Beazant described one of her favorite memories as a student-athlete being the first conference championship the Owls won in 2013 (after falling in the title match the season before). “It was just a team performance all around that day. It was amazing because all the hard work paid off,” she said.
Fast forward to 2021 and Beazant is back in England, where she returned after graduating from Rice in 2015. She is now working in the family business – Regency Glass – and as she tells it “it’s like Rice in the work world, being surrounded by brilliant people.”
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