April 10, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The transition to college is hard enough for most students. For many of the tennis players, the academic adjustment is a minor one. The big challenge is being away from family and getting used to American society.
Seven of the 13 men's and women's players are from European countries such as the former U.S.S.R., Latvia and Sweden. Coach Jeff True says all are highly-ranked players in Europe and many usually represent their countries in international play.
Andrew Kolesins from Liepaja, Latvia, a former Western player from 1995-1997 and assistant coach from 1997-1999, was responsible for much of the recruiting. He has been a contact for sophomore Liene Rozentale and freshman Olga Kosaka, both from Liepaja. Kolesins also played a part in recruiting sophomore Nino Kostava, freshman Martins Jauzems and freshman Evalds Jurans.
Kolesins said he had a tough time getting used to living in the United States at first. When he first got here, he could not speak English.
"I could only say `I want to eat' and `My name is Andrew,'" Kolesins said.
Rozentale played for the Latvian junior national team in a tournament in Turkey while in high school. She said the move to America is not easy because college takes a lot of work and being away from family is tough.
"We have an outstanding international student support group that gets them involved immediately," former women's coach Laura Hudspeth said. "They seem to have a great time meeting the other nationalities." Hudspeth coached the women's tennis team for 10 years, ending last season.
Other than Kolesins, True relies on videotapes and word of mouth from players to recruit.
"Other players can give as good information on players many times more so than coaches," True said. "But there is some risk there."
True says it usually takes the players a year to get accustomed to the United States but they are usually good students. All have to pass a English proficiency test before coming to the United States.
The international players have taught many of the Americans a lot about their culture.
Jennifer Granger, a sophomore from Newburgh, Ind., says having the foreign players on the team has been a learning experience.
"Last year some of them came home with me for Easter," Granger said. "You learn from their countries and teach them about how we do things over here. We taught them why we hide eggs and things like that."
Two of the players knew each other even before they got to Bowling Green. Michael Lindskog and Therese Johansson both went to a tennis academy sponsored by the Swedish Tennis Federation in Link?ping, Sweden for three years.
Lindskog was then recruited by Indiana University but they couldn't give him as big of a scholarship as he needed. The Indiana coach then told him about Western. True said the rest is history.
For these players the transition can be tough at times but proves to be rewarding.
"It's a great opportunity, something I dreamed about growing up," Lindskog said. "To get an education for virtually free."
After he graduates in May with all A's and only one B on his transcript thus far, Lindskog plans to look for a job in the marketing field, preferably in California.
Johansson said schools and sports are never related in Sweden like they are in the United States. She could play tennis but didn't represent her school when she played.
She plans to get her master's degree in psychology after she graduates, but three years ago, she never felt she'd be where she is today.
"I only planned to stay for one year, to get some experience, but I met so many people and they all talked to me that I liked it," Johansson said.
Sophomore Anders Singdahlsen found Western by searching on the Internet from Sandefjord, Norway. He first adjusted to being in America when he played in a Davis Cup match in Philadelphia when he was 16. In high school he played for the Sandefjord Tennis Klub.
He said he got accepted to two schools in Florida along with Western. Singdahlsen planned to play soccer in Florida but didn't arrive in the U.S. until two weeks after tryouts. He plans to transfer whenever he receives a scholarship for soccer. After college, Singdahlsen plans to work in advertising in either New York or Boston.
Hudspeth said learning to play as a team is one of the biggest adjustments the players face.
"Most of these kids play for clubs but they are competing against their other club players so the team concept is foreign to them," Hudspeth said.
-- WKU --NOTE: This article was written by Keith Farner, who covers tennis for the College Heights Herald, Western's campus newspaper. This article was reprinted with the permission of the Herald.
