For Francesca Davis, summer offered a chance to hit reset.

After another busy year balancing Division I tennis and academics at William & Mary, Davis returned home to England in June. She spent time with friends and family, took evening walks through the countryside near her home in Somerset and, of course, reunited with her dog, Roxy.

There was plenty of tennis, too.

Davis used the summer as a training block, focusing on her fitness and endurance while competing in tournaments around London. One of the highlights came on grass, her favorite surface, where she played 15 doubles matches in five days at the site of Wimbledon qualifying.

"I really focused on my fitness and trying to get my endurance up, spent a lot of time in the gym and played some good tournaments as well," Davis said. "It was really fun."

But as summer winds down and another school year begins, Davis has traded the quiet English countryside for a familiar home away from home.

Back in Williamsburg, it's time to press play again.

"I try to use Williamsburg as where I lock in mentally," Davis said. "I feel very alert and in tune with everything I have going on. ... Here, I can get locked in on tennis and do the same with school. It feels like I press play again."

Back to Williamsburg

Davis has developed her own routine when she returns to Williamsburg. One of her first stops isn't a tennis court.

It's Colonial Williamsburg, preferably early in the morning.

"The first thing I do, honestly, is go for a run in Colonial Williamsburg," Davis said. "I love Colonial Williamsburg, but I don't love it at midday on a Saturday. I love it at 7 a.m."

A coffee from Wawa and reconnecting with friends are also on the list.

The routine is familiar now, but returning to campus feels a little different this fall. Davis is a senior, and watching a new group of students arrive for orientation has brought back memories of her own first days at William & Mary.

"It's honestly crazy because it feels like yesterday when I was doing freshman orientation," Davis said. "I'm seeing the orientation aides around campus right now, and I'm just like, 'Oh my gosh, that literally feels like a couple of months ago.'"

Three years later, Davis finds herself on the other side of that experience.

As a freshman, she looked to the veterans around her for guidance. Now, she's one of the players younger teammates will look to.

"As a freshman, you're learning from other people," Davis said. "Now, being a senior, I'm really looking forward to showing people how things work. I think that naturally suits me a bit better."

Finding Her Way to William & Mary

Davis' journey to Williamsburg began thousands of miles away — and with a family connection.

Her older sister, Annabelle, played collegiate tennis at North Florida before spending her graduate years at Clemson. It was her sister's husband, Ryan, a former William & Mary track and field student-athlete, who encouraged Davis to take a closer look at W&M.

"He was like, 'You should so go here. It's an amazing school,'" Davis recalled.

She took his advice and emailed Tribe head coach Jessica Giuggioli.

Things moved quickly.

"I was on a call in two days and then on a visit a week later," Davis said. "I'd been in the recruiting process for about a year and nothing was really speaking to me. There were a couple of schools I looked at, but with this one, immediately I was like, this is it. I was so lucky because I love it. A lot of things fell into place."

Growing in Confidence

Plenty has fallen into place on the court as well.

Davis enjoyed the best season of her Tribe career as a junior. She led William & Mary with 26 singles victories, posted a 17-3 dual-match record and went a perfect 5-0 in CAA singles play. She earned All-CAA First Team honors in singles and All-CAA Second Team recognition in doubles.

Her success has also put her among some of the top players in program history. Davis enters her senior year ranked sixth in career singles winning percentage at .739 and 13th in career doubles winning percentage at the same mark.

Yet the biggest lesson from her junior season wasn't about wins, rankings or records.

It was learning to relax.

"The biggest thing I learned from my junior year is not to take myself too seriously sometimes," Davis said. "I went into that year the most relaxed in myself. I was thinking, whatever happens, I've already accomplished a lot, and it ended up being my most successful season."

That mentality reflects a larger change Davis has seen in herself since arriving in Williamsburg.

"I think my self-belief," Davis said of her biggest area of growth. "I knew my ability at tennis when I came here, but I really didn't know how that was going to translate into college tennis. ... Now I feel like, OK, I've done it three times. If things don't go my way, that's OK. I genuinely have so much experience to draw on that I don't have as much to worry about, and I have more to look forward to."

Student and Athlete

Davis' accomplishments extend beyond the court.

A double major in government and philosophy, Davis will begin William & Mary's accelerated master's program in public policy this fall while finishing her undergraduate degree.

That means her senior year will include both undergraduate and graduate courses alongside the demands of tennis.

"It's going to be a lot," Davis said. "But I'm looking forward to it because my real interest is public policy."

Davis hopes to eventually put that education to work in government or policy research, potentially back home in the United Kingdom. When asked about her dream job, though, she allowed herself to aim even higher — perhaps a high-level government position or even working for the Secret Service.

Her academic success has been another defining part of her William & Mary experience. Davis earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and received W&M's Provost Award following her junior year.

For Davis, excelling in the classroom and on the court aren't separate pursuits.

"Being a student-athlete is about maximizing both," Davis said. "The emphasis that Jessica puts on the student aspect makes such a difference to me. Being a student-athlete means I'm able to use those skills of being an athlete and take them into the real world after college."

Taking on a New Role

As Davis begins another year at William & Mary, her role within the Tribe is changing.

She's no longer the freshman looking to older teammates for advice. She's now the senior passing those lessons along.

And for Davis, leadership doesn't need to come through speeches or instructions on how to hit a forehand.

"The way I want to be a leader isn't about telling them how to play tennis," Davis said. "We're all really good tennis players. It's about how to balance college and classes."

She remembers the seemingly small pieces of advice she received from upperclassmen when she was new to Williamsburg. Now, she wants to provide the same thing for the next generation.

"The tiny little tips they told me about college made such a difference," Davis said. "I want to take inspiration from that to help them and really try to bring the team together because we're a small team, and it's good to have everyone connected."

There are still matches to play, classes to take and plenty for Davis to accomplish at William & Mary.

Eventually, though, she knows her time in Williamsburg will come to an end. When it does, Davis already knows the word she hopes comes to mind when people remember the player they watched on the court.

Gritty.

"I definitely want them to just think 'gritty,'" Davis said. "That's what I want people to remember me by, kind of a fighter. ... It's a 'just don't give up' kind of attitude."

Then, with a laugh, Davis added one more request.

"And hopefully that I'm nice."