Eight different nations, one perfect match

BY BROOKLYN MCKINNEY

Multimedia Journalist

The Tarleton Women’s Tennis roster is comprised of natives from eight different nations across the world. While every player has their roots in different cultures and customs, they all share a common experience weaving them together as international student athletes.

While it may not be as commonplace for an American college basketball or football team to recruit mostly international players, tennis is more of an individual sport that is ranked on a more national scale.

Due to that individual basis, Tarleton’s women’s head tennis coach, Elliane Douglas-Miron, is in the position to welcome several international students to the state of Texas.

“They send in their recruiting videos to me or to my assistant, and then we’ll kind of watch them play, we’ll look at their results and we’ll see if we think they’re a good fit for our program,” Douglas-Miron said. “We also have recruiters who help international students get to the U.S. and so, I have a lot of contacts internationally with those people who are always looking to send their student athletes to the U.S.”

Just one of these exceptional players who made the cut is Maretha Burger, a senior kinesiology major from South Africa.

“There’s a lot of things that your parents need to sacrifice from a very young age to be able to be set up in a way that actually kept me here, not just tennis-wise,” Burger said. “Financial-wise, social-wise, maturity, so many things. You have to see your friends do their normal things and you need to go back, put on your tennis shoes and go play. It’s missing classes, weeks of classes, just because you’re trying to get a good enough ranking or NTR (National Tennis Ranking) so that coaches can see you and so that you can get offers.”

These women would sleep, eat and breathe tennis from the time they were young just for a shot to be here playing for a collegiate team. Now they have made those dreams a reality.

Noelia Lorca, a senior psychology major from Spain, is a Tarleton tennis athlete whose arrival in America changed the experience of the sport for her.

“After I came here to America was when I really started to enjoy tennis,” Lorca said. “I think that tennis in America, like college tennis in general, is just so much different than what we were doing back in our countries. Like, in our country, you were just playing for yourself. I think the team part just made it so much better. You have the team, and because tennis is an individual sport, usually I feel like it can be very hard on you. But coming here, it’s made it a new experience.”

The team has supported and uplifted each other through their ups and downs as international student athletes, creating one perfect match. Clara Sobius, a sports management major from Canada, recognizes how these varying backgrounds strengthens their team relationship.

“I feel like we all bring different values, and we’re all united in a way because we all learned about each other, and we all got so close,” Sobius said.

Before the team got acquainted with each other and the state of Texas, Douglas-Miron welcomed them with open arms. She remembers her experience coming from Canada to the U.S. to play college tennis all too well, and she strives to offer her players the love and support they need to grow and connect with their newfound community.

“It’s just making sure that they feel safe, first and foremost — that they feel like it’s an open environment where they can share their concerns. They don’t have a mom and dad here, right? So, making sure that they know that they have either me or a lot of other people in the department that they can reach out to if they have any issues (is important), and I think that sets a really nice base for us to be able to talk about tennis and winning and trying to do those things,” Douglas-Miron said.

Not only have they grown accustomed to each other, but also to the southern hospitality of Texans.

This culture shift has greatly impacted Sobius and the way she interacts with people day-to-day.

“Sometimes I’m in the airport in Texas, and people come up to me and ask, ‘What school do you go to?’ Or, like, they see rackets and they’re like, ‘Oh, you play tennis!’ It’s nice because it made me more social,” Sobius said. “Before, I was so scared to talk to people I didn’t know, and I feel people are more rude in Canada. Here, people are so nice. Like, ‘Oh, have a good day!’ Things like that. People don’t say that at home.”

Many players on the women’s tennis team at Tarleton have also grown to enjoy the warmer weather and proximity to the bustling city life, Lorca being one of them.

“I really like it because, at least here, you can go to at least two or three cities in one weekend, and you’re going to have fun, you know? There are a lot of things to do in every single city,” Lorca said.

Their goals remain the same every year: To dominate on the tennis court and crush their competition.

“We lost against GCU (Grand Canyon University) in the final tournaments and conference tournament the last two years, so we need some revenge,” Burger said.

Of course, Douglas-Miron’s confidence and optimism remain unmatched.