Three years ago, neither the athlete nor the author was quite sure of how it worked.

‘Call and get a quote or something,’ the burly old sports editor yelled. ‘Just write up something quick.’

The author, a scrawny, shy news writer who doubled as a copy editor, pulled up the roster on the old office Macintosh. ‘Altinay,’ he said to himself. ‘Melis Zeynep Altinay.’

The mystical ‘Melis’ picked up the phone. ‘Hello?’ the freshman asked in a thick Turkish accent.

‘Hi,’ the author stuttered, the rotary phone slipping from his sweaty ear. ‘I’m calling from Pipe Dream.’

Ten awkward minutes later, armed with a few quotes and a na√ÉØve knowledge of tennis, he wrote the story. The women’s tennis team, ‘going through tough times,’ dropped a pair of non-conference matches over the weekend.

Flash-forward to now ‘ the athlete and the author both know the drill.

‘Call and get a quote or something,’ the tall, lanky sports editor asks. ‘Just write up something quick.’

But now, the story is different. That goes for the interview and the on-court results.

Altinay picks up the phone with a slight Turkish accent. The author’s questions are delivered with three-quarters confidence.

And the women’s tennis team ‘ led by the now-senior Altinay ‘ is simply awesome. Back-to-back losses over the weekend? This year’s Bearcats have two losses [italics]all SEASON long[/i].

Head coach Mike Stevens, although married with a young son, was also a ‘rookie’ back in 2004. Now, the seasoned coach has garnered yet another nomination for Pipe Dream’s Coach of the Year award in the midst of a 12-2 (2-0 AE) regular season, and another possible showdown with Boston University in the conference championship.

Tomorrow morning, in what’s likely to be an emotional ceremony, Stevens will introduce Altinay as a graduating senior.

But this isn’t your typical senior day. Stevens graduated one incumbent senior, Janine Sadaka, in his first year at the helm. Tomorrow will be the first day for Stevens to truly experience saying farewell to three of the most successful tennis players in BU history: J.J. Koprivica, Lya Kushnirovich, and the decorated Altinay, the winningest player in program history.

Altinay is 6-0 all-time against Albany. Tomorrow’s match will probably be a mere formality for career win number 86.

I guess you could say that she’s figured it out.