Journalist
Wayzata soccer senior sustains family’s maroon and gold way of life
By: Alex Karwowski
Tenley Senden understands the importance of family traditions, so when each member before her competed at the Division I level for the University of Minnesota, she honored tradition.
Before Tenley committed to the Golden Gophers soccer team, her mother Kristen Senden did the same for the U’s gymnastics team, her father Stuart Senden played hockey and her sister Brynn Senden committed to playing on the women’s basketball team.
Next fall will be Tenley’s turn as the 17-year-old trades her Wayzata High School soccer threads for a fresh maroon and gold look.
Everyone who joins a college team has the support of their coaches and teammates and Tenley's case is no different. But what she has that others don’t is a family of athletes supporting her who did the same thing at the same college.
Tenley Senden (right) navigated past her teammate Ana Cecilia Walker during a one-on-one drill on Nov. 20, 2024, in Eden Prairie, Minn. Senden has played soccer for 12 years and signed her national letter of intent in November to join the Gophers soccer team next season. (Alex Karwowski)
Tenley Senden (right) navigated past her teammate Ana Cecilia Walker during a one-on-one drill on Nov. 20, 2024, in Eden Prairie, Minn. Senden has played soccer for 12 years and signed her national letter of intent in November to join the Gophers soccer team next season. (Alex Karwowski)
At the end of the first quarter during the Gophers women's basketball game, Tenley Senden (center) sat between her parents, Kristen and Stuart Senden, and clapped along to the Minnesota Rouser on Dec. 3, 2024, in Minneapolis. Minn. Tenley left the game at halftime to get to her soccer practice on time. (Alex Karwowski)
At the end of the first quarter during the Gophers women's basketball game, Tenley Senden (center) sat between her parents, Kristen and Stuart Senden, and clapped along to the Minnesota Rouser on Dec. 3, 2024, in Minneapolis. Minn. Tenley left the game at halftime to get to her soccer practice on time. (Alex Karwowski)
Tenley Senden licked the cookie batter off her fingers on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. Tenley returned to her home the day prior after spending the weekend in St. Louis, Miss., playing soccer with her club team, Minnesota Thunder Academy. (Alex Karwowski)
Tenley Senden licked the cookie batter off her fingers on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. Tenley returned to her home the day prior after spending the weekend in St. Louis, Miss., playing soccer with her club team, Minnesota Thunder Academy. (Alex Karwowski)
The heat of the oven hit Tenley Senden's face as she placed holiday-themed cookies onto the top rack on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. Tenley and her mother rolled the cookie dough into small balls before they lined them up on a tray to put into the oven. (Alex Karwowski)
The heat of the oven hit Tenley Senden's face as she placed holiday-themed cookies onto the top rack on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. Tenley and her mother rolled the cookie dough into small balls before they lined them up on a tray to put into the oven. (Alex Karwowski)
A soccer ball rolled off the turf field and Tenley Senden happily went to retrieve it on Nov. 20, 2024, in Eden Prairie, Minn. Tenley's team of 18 girls scatters across the field in between drills to pick up soccer balls and return them to head coach Daniel Storlien. (Alex Karwowski)
A soccer ball rolled off the turf field and Tenley Senden happily went to retrieve it on Nov. 20, 2024, in Eden Prairie, Minn. Tenley's team of 18 girls scatters across the field in between drills to pick up soccer balls and return them to head coach Daniel Storlien. (Alex Karwowski)
Sitting in the stands of Williams Arena, Tenley Senden (left) and her mother Kristen Senden chatted with Chris Braun, the father of Mara Braun on Dec. 9, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minn. Like Tenley, Mara Braun attended Wayzata High School and plays alongside Tenley's sister, Brynn Senden, on the Gophers women's basketball team. (Alex Karwowski)
Sitting in the stands of Williams Arena, Tenley Senden (left) and her mother Kristen Senden chatted with Chris Braun, the father of Mara Braun on Dec. 9, 2024, in Minneapolis, Minn. Like Tenley, Mara Braun attended Wayzata High School and plays alongside Tenley's sister, Brynn Senden, on the Gophers women's basketball team. (Alex Karwowski)
An old Gophers gymnastics jacket was tucked away in a closet in the Senden family basement on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. Kristen Senden helped the Gophers gymnastics team make its first NCAA championship appearance in 1997. (Alex Karwowski)
An old Gophers gymnastics jacket was tucked away in a closet in the Senden family basement on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. Kristen Senden helped the Gophers gymnastics team make its first NCAA championship appearance in 1997. (Alex Karwowski)
Kristen Senden (right) poured holiday-themed M&Ms into Tenley's bowl of cookie batter on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. The two were baking cookies for a cookie exchange they had the next day. (Alex Karwowski)
Kristen Senden (right) poured holiday-themed M&Ms into Tenley's bowl of cookie batter on Dec. 9, 2024, in Medina, Minn. The two were baking cookies for a cookie exchange they had the next day. (Alex Karwowski)