By Alexa Taylor, Cronkite PR Lab
Thousands of students travel across the country, and the world, to experience an education at Arizona State, and the draw of being a part of Sun Devil athletics is no exception. With one of the nation’s highest international student populations, ASU is home to more than 13,000 foreign students from over 150 countries. Athletes in particular have contributed exponentially to the school’s teams and one squad, in particular, is uniquely made up of almost entirely international players.
The women’s tennis team has six out of their eight athletes come from other countries, all with unique backgrounds and stories. However, all made the decision to attend ASU with the same goal in mind: to get a top-tier education and continue to play the sport they love.
Sophomore Patricija Spaka is originally from Latvia. What drew her initially to ASU was the beautiful campus and the weather. More importantly, it gave her a chance to continue a passion that would not have been possible otherwise.
“I wanted to be able to further my education and continue to play tennis at the same time. I would not have been able to do that back home because we did not have opportunities like that; it just wasn’t available.”
As much as she loves the weather, she does say the heat has been her biggest challenge so far. Being away from home is also a challenge, along with the significant time difference, a common theme among the other international athletes on the team.
Chelsea Fontenel, a freshman from Switzerland, says being a part of the team has increased the feeling of home that she has been missing. She credits her teammates for how much she has learned from them, and, equally, how much they have learned from her.
“I truly enjoy the diversity on the team and I’ve become more open-minded because of it. We all have different stories and backgrounds, so I’m constantly learning new things and seeing things from different perspectives.”
Fontenel also recognized how much the university has helped her become acclimated to a new environment and culture during an already monumental time of moving to college and becoming an adult.
“They offered so much help and the resources they gave me were endless. The entire staff wants to see student-athletes succeed, and I am very grateful for how much time and energy they give us.”
Rachel Hanford, a junior from Canada, luckily wasn’t as far away from home as her teammates. She loves how close-knit the team is, and, similarly to Fontenel, appreciates how much she learns from her fellow athletes.
“Even though we are all from different places, and have different backgrounds, we all have common ground. We are from somewhere different, and we also all love our sport and are so passionate about it that it gives us something to relate to with one another and find comfort.”
The love and camaraderie displayed within the group are noticeable to anyone who interacts with the team. And as much as the athletes learn from each other, their coaches also learn from the group, whether that comes from learning new cultures to gaining unique perspectives.
Assistant head coach Matt Langley, who was an international athlete when he played college tennis, said that his experience of moving from Australia to the U.S. has helped him connect with the team.
“I went through exactly the same process that a lot of the athletes on our team went through. I think that helps initially when communicating with them because I’m familiar with the whole process of what it takes to come over and all of those different things that you might not think about if you didn't go through that experience yourself.”
Langley commended the team for how they have bonded. Even though he comes from another country, he loves being able to learn from each of the athletes and understand what makes them so unique.
You can catch the international student-athletes of the women’s tennis team, alongside their American counterparts, as they wrap up the season at the Pac-12 Championships from April 26-29 on the Pac-12 Network.