Stop the racket: meet the tennis team
Kasie Thomas, Sports Editor
North Greenville tennis is in full swing and NGU tennis is on the map for having players from all over the map.
The men’s team has players from Brazil, Bolivia, France, Belgium and Florida. The women’s team also has international players with women from the Netherlands, Croatia and Brazil.
The team’s next home match is February 28, so it is only right to learn about a few of NGU’s tennis players, national and international.
Kyle Praschan is a freshman on the men’s tennis team. He is from Jacksonville, Florida, and has been playing tennis since he was 7 years old.
Praschan said he heard about North Greenville while website searching for potential schools. He wanted a school that had tennis and a great Biology program, and he found NGU.
He said, “My favorite part about playing tennis at NGU has been getting to know the team. We have a lot of foreigners on our team so it’s really interesting to see all the different cultures and backgrounds that my teammates bring.”
Something Praschan misses the most about his hometown is the beach. He said the beaches in Florida are unmatched.
Naomi Sakakibara, sophomore, is a part of the women’s tennis team, and her home is Sao Pablo, Brazil. Sakakibrar started playing tennis when she was 7 but didn’t get serious about the sport until she was around the age of 13.
She said she plays tennis because her dad used to play, and he came to the United States to be a collegiate athlete too.
Sakakibara said, “I love the diversity in our team. There are people from all over the world and we are a big family. I love spending time with them during practice. We always find a way to have a fun practice.”
She said in her free time she likes to go out with friends and have nice dinners. Sushi places are there go to, she said.
Mitzy Enderink is also a sophomore on the women’s team and calls the Netherlands her home. She has been playing tennis for 14 years.
Enderink transferred to NGU because she wanted to play tennis on a division two level. She said the connectivity on the team is her favorite part about playing at North Greenville.
“I love having a group of people behind me to help or motivate me whenever I need it,” Enderink said.
She said a big difference in the Netherlands and here is school, sports, and the language.
“The fact that you can play on a team and combining it with school is amazing to me. I also had to get use to the language and how different the people are, which has been really fun so far,” she said.
She said outside of tennis she loves to go rock climbing and camping. She is also very into music and art and enjoys playing the piano.
