Painting a Masterpiece: The Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek Story

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The best tennis players paint the corners.

A perfect shot, impeccably placed, bounces just inside the white line —where a lunging opponent can't quite reach to return it— for a winning point.

Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek is one of those players.

Watch the Miami junior from Drummondville, Quebec compete for the RedHawks and you'll undoubtedly see her execute quite a few shots just like that.

Back and forth.

Forehand and backhand.

It's like watching an artist at work.

However, that's not the only kind of painting Denysiewicz-Slowek excels at.

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When the COVID pandemic began, Denysiewicz-Slowek needed something to keep her busy.

"I couldn't play because we had to be in quarantine, and I was just so bored at home," Denysiewicz-Slowek said. "I was like, 'Mom, I can't keep watching movies. I can't stay in. I'm going crazy here.'"

Denysiewicz-Slowek's mother offered the only solution she could think of: A canvas and some paint.

"She said, 'If you want, you can do it," Denysiewicz-Slowek recalled. "I said, 'Okay, I'll try.'

"Then I ended up actually really liking it. And it was good! I was surprised…from there, I developed a passion for it. That's where I started doing more paintings and portraits and all of these different things."

Denysiewicz-Slowek's newfound painting hobby wasn't her first foray into the art world. In fact, in previous years, she and her mother had helped fund part of the cost of tennis lessons and equipment by designing handcrafted holiday decorations, including one-of-a-kind ornaments, lighted wine bottles, Easter eggs and mugs.

"Thinking of an art design for every single mug – 200 of them? That was really tough. And time-consuming!", she laughed.

"But it was also really fun."

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Visit the Miami Tennis offices on the west side of Yager Stadium, and one of the first things that will catch your eye is a painting. It's a Denysiewicz-Slowek original, and it tells the story of the most recent one of the program's 24 all-time MAC championships.

Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek painting

There are RedHawks all over this particular work of art, with six babies gathered inside a champion's trophy (which of course features a Miami 'M'). The half-dozen little RedHawks represent the rest of the freshman class that made up the majority of that 2021-22 roster, with two full-grown birds hovering above to lead the way (in honor of that group's pair of senior leaders, Brindtha Ramasamy and Laura Rico). Near the collection of tennis balls at the bottom of the painting is one other RedHawk, representing Denysiewicz-Slowek herself. Due to injury, she was limited to single-digit appearances in singles and doubles during her rookie season, so the artist drew herself outside of the 'nest.'

"She did that painting for the team," said head coach Ricardo Rosas. "I think it was just special for them: The bond that they had when [those freshmen] came in.

"Those are some of the things that she painted about. She saw herself out and injured, but even with that, she's always been at the center of our team because of her ability to compete and play, her strong character, and being a good teammate."

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Since getting healthy, Denysiewicz-Slowek has made her impact felt on the court, producing the best win-loss percentage of any RedHawk in singles last year (.593) while teaming up with Rico to go 19-8 in doubles. This season, Denysiewicz-Slowek has gone 10-3 at No. 2 singles, including earning MAC Player of the Week honors once in February and once in March. Last weekend, she moved up the lineup to the No. 1 singles spot, posting a win over Toledo's Cassie Alcala.

"It's really about the effort that's put in and the energy," Denysiewicz-Slowek explained. "Coach always talks about hunger and having that mindset, because I'm an aggressive player and my tennis game is being an aggressive player."

"I think her killer instinct is one of the best I've seen," Rosas agreed. "She's super nice outside [the lines], but when she gets on that tennis court –even at practice, or any type of little competition— there's something that brings the best out of her.

"Some of those things you can't coach…and now she knows how to take advantage of it…We need a player with that type of character and fight. She's just been really good for the team."

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Denysiewicz-Slowek is majoring in Marketing at Miami, with a minor in Emerging Technology-Business and Design. An Academic All-District, Academic All-MAC, and ITA All-Academic honoree a year ago, she is coming off back-to-back 4.0 semesters in the classroom. Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek

"She's a standout on the court, on her artistic side, and look at her academics as well," said Rosas. "I think that's because she has that laser focus: when she puts her mind and heart into something, she has the ability to create something."

Although she isn't exactly sure what type of career field she'll choose post-graduation, Denysiewicz-Slowek hasn't ruled out pursuing a path in professional tennis.

"I'm still really focused on the tennis part," said Denysiewicz-Slowek. "Before COVID hit, I had started playing a lot more international tournaments and traveling a lot." As a trilingual daughter of Polish immigrants to Canada who now live in North Carolina, she has always enjoyed visiting different parts of the world, including winning the ITF J5 in Bermuda in singles and doubles in 2019.

"That conversation came out in our recruiting process," Rosas said. "It's not an easy route. I'm all for that, to help her develop in that way as well.

"After graduation, if [going pro] is something she really wants, I think she should commit to it and see how far she can go."

"Coach really pushes me to be the best player I can be and to reach that level, so I can pursue it afterwards…I would really want to at least give it a shot," Denysiewicz-Slowek smiled. "You never know until you go through it to the end."

Until then, Denysiewicz-Slowek's focus is on helping the RedHawks continue to chase championships. Miami currently sits in second place in the MAC East heading into this weekend's home matches against Bowling Green (Friday) and Buffalo (Sunday).

And if the RedHawks end the spring by hoisting a regular-season or tournament trophy, don't be surprised if another commemorative painting shows up in the Miami Tennis offices, even though its predecessor took Denysiewicz-Slowek most of the summer to design and complete.

Because whether in tennis or art, the famous quote Denysiewicz-Slowek once shared on social media seems appropriate: "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

Spoken exactly like another van Gogh.

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

Denysiewicz-Slowek and the RedHawks are back in action Friday, April 12 vs. Bowling Green (1 p.m. in Hamilton, Ohio) and Sunday, April 14 vs. Buffalo (noon in Oxford). Both home matches are free and open to the public. Times and location are subject to change.

Painting a Masterpiece: The Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek Story

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