Madisen Cherry

Two factors made it easy for Madisen Cherry (pictured, center, with her siblings Kenedy, left, and Adonis, right) to choose Russell Sage College. 

First — her brother and sister also chose it (Madisen is a triplet); and second, she could play competitive tennis. 

Just a few months into her first year, Madisen was undefeated and named Women’s Tennis Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year by the NCAA’s Empire 8 athletic conference. 

She’s the first student-athlete from Sage to receive both honors in the same year.

She said the awards were the highlight of her first year in college. 

“My parents actually knew that I was being presented with these awards two weeks before I knew,” she said. “They hid it from me!”

A Las Vegas native, Madisen said that frequent texts and phone calls with her parents, as well as the presence of her siblings, helped her adjust to college in New York.

“The Sage faculty and my RA, Jasmine, have been big-time helpful as well,” she added.  

She said she started Sage leaning toward a criminal justice major, but after taking general education and introductory courses, will wait until her sophomore year to declare a major. 

In the meantime, she’s focused on taking her tennis game to the next level. She maintains a practice and workout schedule year-round and plans to attend Patrick Mourataglou’s tennis academy in France this summer. 

“I really enjoyed my first college tennis experience,” she said. ”I made great friends, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”