Tuesday, Mar. 9
March 9, 2010
Sheriff’s ranges give public a new target
March 11, 2010Walk into the bus for the Nicholls men and women’s tennis teams and one may hear some differing opinions about worldwide issues.
And one may also hear the arguments be formulated in several different languages, too.
That’s because 10 countries are represented among the 16 players (all international students) on the Nicholls tennis teams, bringing together several different ways of life and giving the Colonels plenty of international flare on and off the tennis court.
“The discussions on the trips is unbelievable,” said Nicholls tennis coach Jim Hunter. “They will talk about everything from politics, the uses of words and economics – whatever you can think of. You can learn so much and hear so many different opinions about things we don’t ever think about here.”
A 67-year-old Vietnam veteran, Hunter is the man charged with bringing all of the different cultures of the world into one locker room and turning them into a unified team.
But the Nicholls coach said despite what some would think, chemistry is the strength of his team.
“The kids who come here feel a kinship,” he said. “None of the kids ever get homesick and leave. They like it.”
For most of the international tennis players, they recruit Nicholls just as much as Nicholls recruits them.
With a miniscule recruiting budget, Hunter is not able to trot the globe to search for players. He instead relies on Internet recruiting sites and watches tapes players send to him.
And even then, the challenge has just begun as the Colonels have to compete with the bigger schools in the state and across the Southeast for the top-tier players.
“Most players reject us,” Hunter said. “But I try to find players with potential that the other schools are missing.”
One of those diamonds in the rough Hunter has swayed to Thibodaux is junior Natalia Zamora from Mexico City.
Zamora was a national champion in Mexico as a teenager, but poverty forced her from the game in her high school years.
“I figured the one that was the national champion right now wasn’t going to talk to me, so I got Natalia,” Hunter said. “The first week, she couldn’t keep a ball inside the fences, the second week, she couldn’t keep it inside of the court and then the third week, she quit missing. It all came back to her.”
Once signed into the program, the transition begins for the athletes as they have to learn the American way of life.
Senior Sanja Stanojcic from Bosnia said learning America was difficult as first, but the transition has been one she doesn’t regret.
“Everything is so big here compared to Europe,” she said. “And it does take time, but we do it together.”
Senior Eric Fisher of South Africa said Louisiana’s heavy international ties makes the transition easier than it would be in other places in the country.
“Everything here is internationally influenced,” he said. “Like the French Quarter in New Orleans. Everything here is a mixture of different parts of the world. It wasn’t hard for us to adapt. It’s just a home away from home for us now.”
Hunter said the transition has helped with this particular batch of players because of the laid-back nature of the team.
On and off the courts, players rib one another and laughter is often heard throughout the Colonels’ tennis facility.
“I love these guys with everything I’ve got. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here,” Hunter said. “We truly are a family. And that’s the rule we have. We can insult one another, but if anyone from the outside insults us, they’re going to be in for it.”
And while the transition from overseas to small town Louisiana is sometimes bumpy, one thing about Thibodaux sells itself – the food.
“Overall, Cajun cuisine is probably a little bit too spicy for me,” Stanojcic said. “But I love king crabs. It took me a while to figure out what to do with it. I had to sit there and investigate it, but I figured it out and it’s delicious.”
Zamora said she also has a seafood of choice.
“I love crawfish,” Zamora said. “They are so good. Before I came, I never even knew that existed.”
But it’s not all fun and games for the Colonels and the team has achieved success on the tennis courts this season.
The men’s team has wins against Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane under its belt and has a 1-1 record in the Southland Conference.
Hunter said the team is shooting for the Southland Conference title and a spot in the NCAA Regionals. The team made the conference finals last season.
Senior Phenyo Matong of Botswana said he’d love to take some jewelry home to his native country.
“We want those rings – those Southland championship rings,” he said. “We want to go all the way.”
The women’s team does not have the same expectations as the men, but Hunter said they are a year away from being at the top of the conference.
Achieving success with both teams would be quite an ending place for a team full of 16 men and women who have traveled 16 completely different paths of life to get to Thibodaux.
“People are starting to worry about us a little bit, where they used to take us for granted,” Hunter said.
