“She literally willed it into existence,” Li hsiu Hou’s coach said
When Rhode Island College tennis coach Adam Spring got an email in January 2022 from a prospective player, the premise itself sounded almost absurd.
The woman explained that she was a mother of three boys who had moved to the United States four years earlier and recently taken up tennis. She was thinking about applying to college and wondered whether there might be a spot on the team.
Then came the final line:
“I was born in 1967.”
She wrote it matter-of-factly, seemingly unaware that most 54-year-olds are pivoting to pickleball, not playing NCAA tennis.
This was no prank. Li hsiu Hou, who goes by Lucy, was entirely serious.
Hou became a key contributor on one of New England’s top Division III tennis teams, winning more than 20 matches over four seasons, including the clinching victory that secured Rhode Island College’s Little East Conference championship last fall.
“It’s the most indelible story of my career as a coach,” Spring told me this week.
Now 58, Hou is preparing to walk across the graduation stage with a degree in accounting and an inspirational story few could have imagined when she sent that email three years ago.
When we met for coffee this week, even Hou couldn’t help but laugh at her unusual circumstances.
“My intention was never to become famous or popular,” she said.
She moved to the United States from Taiwan in 2018 through the EB-5 immigrant investor program so her three sons could attend school here while her husband stayed behind to run his legal practice. She admits that she had never heard of Rhode Island before moving here, but her oldest son was attending the University of Rhode Island’s pharmacy school.
“It’s so nice and small, and people are friendly,” Hou said.
Tennis made her feel alive. For the first time in years, Hou said, her mind wasn’t consumed by her children’s schedules. She had something that was hers. She embraced the competition and practiced obsessively.
“My mind was only just tennis,” Hou said. “I just wanted to get better.”
Still, she knew that making a college tennis team was a longshot. Was she even eligible? Could she run with women less than half her age?
After exchanging emails with Coach Spring, she sent what he describes as a “grainy video” of her practicing. He was polite, but honest with her: “The videos, while helpful, don’t give me the insight I was hoping for,” he wrote.
Spring suggested he come watch her play in person to get a better feel for her skill level. He said he could tell Hou was in “immaculate shape,” but he wasn’t sure she could compete in the program. Then he asked her to make a small change to her grip on the racket, and he immediately noticed that she was striking the ball more confidently.
Spring remembers thinking: “OK, she is teachable.” He decided to give her a chance.
Hou recalls being nervous ahead of her first classes. She attended orientation twice just to make sure she knew where she was going. She also wrote herself a letter, a reminder that it was a dream come true to be a college athlete.
“Just do it. Fearless,” she wrote in the letter.
Hou didn’t play much as a freshman, but she practiced six days a week and kept improving. She had a breakout season in 2023 as a sophomore, going 12-1 as the No. 6 singles player, and 11-3 in No. 3 doubles and winning team MVP.
As a senior this season, there was one honor for Hou left to earn: a conference championship.
Spring and RIC have built a mini-dynasty in the Little East, winning the league five straight seasons between 2017 and 2021. But Hou’s teams finished second behind UMass Boston in each of her first three years in college.
RIC went undefeated in 2025 and hosted the Little East finals in October against – who else – UMass Boston. This time, Hou delivered. She won her match 7-5, 6-1, to seal RIC’s 4-2 victory. In a recording of the finals, Hou nonchalantly shakes her opponent’s hand and then her teammates swarm her to celebrate their title.
“She became a competent and college-ready tennis player on the fly,” Spring said. “It wasn’t like she came on my team having played at a high level her whole life. She literally willed it into existence.”
Winning the Little East meant that RIC was guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament, which didn’t take place until last week. Hou was up 2-0 in the second set, but Stevens Institute of Technology won its fourth and decisive match while she was still playing to advance.
“It was beyond my expectations and planning,” Hou said. She was also a star in the classroom, finishing with a 3.9 GPA.
Now that she’s set to graduate, she appears realistic about her tennis future. There are no imminent plans for Wimbledon. She said she plans to look for a job in the US, but also wants to keep taking classes at RIC.
“You think anyone will hire me?” she wondered aloud.
At this point, the better question might be whether anyone has bought the movie rights yet.