Men's tennis a diverse and close-knit group
When walking around the UW-Madison campus, people see a large amount of students with a number of diverse origins and histories. While this is surely the case, caucasians from the state of Wisconsin seem to comprise the overwhelming majority.
Strolling into a UW men's tennis practice, however, might give you quite a different impression. You will discover that among the players, four different countries are represented, and within the players from the United States, four different states are represented.
And the team is composed of only seven players.
With no members of the team from the state of Wisconsin, this squad is among the most diverse in the UW athletic department. Not only are there no players from the dairy state, but only one player, sophomore Jeremy Sonkin, hails from the Midwest.
Sonkin, a Wheaton, Ill., native and captain of the team, admited he was a little skeptical when he first came here about the amount of diversity on the team, but is now close with all of his teammates and says he has learned a lot about them and a lot from them. Sonkin is roommates with fellow sophomore Elliot Bisnow, a native of Washington, D.C.
A lot of times we'll sit down at dinner, and we'll bring up different topics, like a lot of the guys here like to talk about politics,\ Sonkin said. ""It's just really great to be able to bond with the different backgrounds and learn so much about one another.""
Sophomore Brennen Phippen may be the most well-traveled of any of his teammates. Listed as a native of Brandenton, Fla., Phippen was born in Minnesota, where he lived for seven years. He then moved to California, where he lived for five years, and finally settled down in Florida.
Phippen transferred to UW this year from Furman University, a school in Greenville, S.C., along with sophomore Nolan Polley, a Lexington, Ky. native who transferred from Kentucky.
""I think it's a great experience,"" Phippen said. ""You get to know a lot of different cultures, and make friends from around the world.""
Three players on the team come from outside of the United States. Freshman Gian Hodgson is from Saventa, Aruba, and sophomore Felipe Bellido's hometown is Lima, Peru. The oldest member of the team, junior Lachezar Kasarov, hails from farthest away, from the city of Burgas, Bulgaria, on the Black Sea coast in southeastern Europe.
""Everybody, a foreigner or someone from a different part of the U.S., just brings something new to the table, which is great,"" Kasarov said. ""In our situation, I absolutely believe that the chemistry is great, and we all get along. There are really no problems between us.""
""It's great because everybody has a different mentality, and everybody is used to different environments and everything, so it's interesting,"" Bellido said.
Even the two coaches of the team represent the two different coasts in the United States. Head coach Greg Van Emburgh is a Mineola, N.Y. native, while assistant coach Danny Westerman, a former player for the Badgers, is from Los Angeles.
""They're all really good kids, and they're all trying to achieve the same things on and off the court,"" Van Emburgh said. ""It's been great to kind of piece them together.""
The closeness of this young team is apparent, and it goes to show that even when students are plucked from different parts of the world, they can unite under the common goals of simply playing good tennis and competing as a cohesive unit. Their friendships through diversity will prove to be huge assets in this team's bright future.
\
