Lobo women's tennis team racket up wins with international players

The University of New Mexico women's tennis team thrives with diversity

by AMBER DILLEY and NATALIE McBRIDE

The University of New Mexico's queens of tennis may speak different languages, but the sport brings them together as a team.

Maria Sotirchos and Victoria Tessmar

Head Coach Kathy Kolankiewicz

The more international players in college tennis, the more the level of competition goes up, said Kathy Kolankiewicz, UNM's women's tennis coach of 23 years.

"There's a lot more depth among the UNM team and the national teams,” she said.

The women come from near and far: Cairo, Egypt; Los Alamos, N.M.; Wanganui, New Zealand; Cape Coral, Fla.; Wrexham, Wales; Oak Hill, Va.; Stockholm, Sweden; Mexico City, Mexico; Mobile, Ala. and Pula, Croatia.

The Lobo's team is composed of two seniors, three juniors, one sophomore and three freshmen. This brings 10 players to the court and is considered a large team.

Lucy Scott, a senior majoring in advertising, is one of the 10 international athletes on the team. She is from Wrexham, Wales and came to UNM by filling out a tennis résumé.

Scott has earned many tennis honors over the years. She won the Welsh ladies doubles and mixed doubles championship in 2005, earned Mountain West Conference Academic All-Conference honors the past three seasons (2005, 2006 and 2007), was named to Mountain West Conference All-Conference doubles team (2006-07) and garnered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete award (2005-06).

Scott said there was no language barrier for her because she speaks English, but the American accent was a bit odd at first. She said that some of her teammates did have trouble with English because it was their second language.

When asked about animosity between the American and international players, Scott said: “Animosity? Not at all. I know some of the American girls make comments, but it happens in all sports,” Scott said. “I think if it were all American, it wouldn’t be as good. Everyone’s on the same page and wants the team to do the best they can.”

Scott graduates in May, and she wants to find a graduate assistant coaching position.

While some members of the team come from overseas, others didn't have to travel as far.

Maria Sotirchos, a junior from Virginia said, “I was recruited as a junior at a tournament in California.”

She is majoring in psychology with minors in anthropology and criminology.

Sotirchos has also had a successful tennis career thus far. She was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association Athlete in 2007, Mountain West Conference Scholar Athlete (2006-07) and Mountain West Conference Academic All-Conference (2006-07).

She said foreigners bring good competition. At first she thought the foreigners were taking spots Americans should have on the tennis teams, but thought that there are a lot of good schools for them to go to, she said.
Dealing with the language barrier and being an American hasn’t been easy either.

“The language is hard, but everyone that’s been here has coped really well,” Sotirchos said.

Sotirchos also said that the teammates have to keep an open mind about their fellow players.

“Until you meet somebody, you don’t really know about their culture,” Sotirchos said.

Coach Kolankiewicz recognizes the hardships her players experience.

“They are far from home, and they don’t have any family out here to support them,” Kolankiewicz said.

Kolankiewicz said that in other countries, the players have to choose between the sport they love and school.
“America is the only place they can go to college and play tennis,” Kolankiewicz said. “In most other countries you either go to school or play tennis.”

Team players don’t have the money to do both, she said.
Kolankiewicz said there are some language barriers, but the international players have to speak English well to get into UNM.

Despite the hardships of playing tennis away from home and the criticisms of being foreign, the team members remain united.

“There are parents who are anti-foreign, they feel their kids are being pushed out,” Kolankiewicz said.

She said the kids on the team don’t have to worry about that. UNM, tennis, and America give these women choices that they may not have had in other countries.

“If you came from a place where you don’t have as many opportunities, then you’re a bit hungrier,” Kolankiewicz said.

Recruiting in other countries can raise some issues.

“There have been attempts to limit how many international players are allowed, but they haven’t been successful,” Kolankiewicz said.

Kolankiewicz said funds for tennis have not increased despite the trips to other countries for recruiting. She not only looks for great tennis players, but women who care about their education as well.

“They are here to get a degree. Playing tennis is a close second, but academics is priority,” Kolankiewicz said. The grade point average for the team has been 3.0 or higher for the last 13 years she said.

Kolankiewicz said that along with bringing good competition for the team itself and other teams as well; it also serves as a way to break down boundaries for the team.

“Among the team, having international players is great,” Kolankiewicz said. “It’s a great way to learn about the world.”

The team may seem scattered in terms of a map, but they all speak the language of tennis very well.

The year 2006-07 proved to be quite a year for the Lobo women’s tennis team.

Seven of the players made the Mountain West Conference Academic All-Conference, four earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athlete award, and three earned the Mountain West Conference Scholar Athlete award. On top of earning so many awards through teamwork, they also achieved a 3.6 grade point average in the fall of 2007.

The team’s record last year was 12-11. So far they are 8-6. There are 8 weeks left for the team to show off their skills.

They have 12 weeks until making it to their goal of reaching the National Collegiate Athletic Association level in May, in Tulsa, Okla.

Written March 13, 2008

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