AT HOME AND ABROAD TENNIS TEAM CELEBRATES DIVERS ITY WORDS Cqyleigh Thomas I I PHOTOS Jeff Montgomery & ~ ,amt Heim In 2018, the men and women's tennis teams collectively had 15 team members, ten ofwhom were international students. Men's tennis coach David Redding said they were more successful because of the diversity of the teams. "I received thousands of emails for recruitment," Redding said. "It took a long time to decide [on] and interview [candidates]." Redding emailed and Skyped with many international students whom he considered to be a good 6t for Harding. "I asked a lot of questions to determine what kind of environment they grew up in," Redding said. "Many international students come from cultures that are highly different from Harding, so it was challenging to attempt to sign a player based on only a few emails and Skype conversations." Junior Carlos Crisostomo, from Santiago, Chile, started playing tennis when he was 6 years old, and started training and playing competitively when he was 12. In the 2017-18 season, Crisostomo made the quarter finals of singles in regionals and won the doubles fall conference tournament with his doubles partner, sophomore Luis Tirado, from La Paz, Bolivia. Crisostomo said that the tennis team's diversity was one of the things he liked the most about his time at Harding. "We are about 10 people from many different countries, and I considered them my second family," Crisostomo said. "They made things easier especially when things weren't good for one of us. We knew we always had someone with us." Crisostomo chose Harding with the help of former head coach Marco Ruiz. "Ruiz was very interested in bringing me to Harding," Crisostomo said. "He made me feel like Harding was a great fit for me as a player and a great school to get my degree." Junior Gabriella Alves joined the team from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She started playing tennis when she was 5 years old because her parents played tennis. Io the 2016-17 season, she only lost five matches in singles, and in the 2017-18 season, she was the runner-up in the Great American Conference tournament and made it to the finals in her bracket. Because of the family dynamic of the team, Alves felt supported to do her best. "The team was mostly from different countries, but for most of us, our culture was similar," Alves said. "I enjoyed it especially in situations where we all saw something differently and had different opinions." I Senior Adria Abella prepares to swing at a ball served to him on Feb. 25, 2017, at the Harding University tennis courts. Abella comes to Harding from Lleida, Spain and was named a Great American Conference Distinguished Scholar in 2016 and 2017. // Courtesy of Jeff Montgomery Senior Neto Cacace practices his swing at the Harding University tennis courts on April 19, 2017. Cacace came to Harding from Sao Paulo, Brazil. // Photo by Ryann Heim Alumna Piper Huey swings at the ball the opponent served her on Feb. 25, 2017, at the Harding University tennis courts. Harding defeated the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith with a final score of 5-4. // Courtesy of Jeff Montgomery ~ rn z Cf) )> z 0 ~ 0 ~ rn z (f) ~ rn z z lf) :::::::: I\) _. co
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