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Raphael Hemmeler Senior Profile
10/27/2014 9:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Athletics
DURHAM, N.C.- Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior Raphael Hemmeler to learn more about the Zurich, Switzerland native.
GoDuke.com: What's been your favorite place to travel with tennis?
Raphael Hemmeler: We are pretty lucky to be able to go Hawaii at the beginning of the year. It's a team-bonding trip that's always amazing. I think that the spring break trips to California have been really nice as well; we've stayed in really nice hotels, and then competed and practiced. These are definitely two of my favorite trips here.
GoDuke.com: Do you have a road trip memory that you'll always have with you?
RH: When Cale Hammond lost a finger at San Diego, playing SDSU, that was definitely a memory. Kind of a negative memory, but so many good memories as well. It's always amazing to win against really good teams on the road, like Notre Dame or Illinois. Road trips connected with wins will definitely be something I remember.
GoDuke.com: What's one lesson playing tennis has taught you that you can use throughout the rest of your life?
RH: I think tennis has taught me a lot, like handling pressure situations, pursuing something and having daily goals, and focusing on the progress rather the outcomes. I think there's so many things that can be applied from tennis. It's an individual sport, as well, so it's very mental and it's about how you talk to yourself and maintain your confidence level.
GoDuke.com: Do you have any good Coach Ramsey Smith or Jonathan Stokke stories?
RH: I love to compete against both coaches in table tennis, and I love how intense and competitive it is to play against them. Especially Ramsey, he's an unbelievable competitor and gets really into it. Freshman or sophomore year, we would play for hours and that was definitely one thing I really enjoyed to do. Or the summer when I was here, we were in the pool playing basketball and jumping around and Ramsey lost his wedding ring. [Laughs.] I just love how into games the coaches can get and love the overall competitiveness we have in all areas of the sport.
GoDuke.com: Off the court, what's one of your proudest academic achievements?
RH: I wasn't really sure that I came here my freshman year with the mindset that I wanted to major in Economics. Hearing from older guys, their experiences were mostly negative. Even [Assistant Director of Academic Support Services] Jeremiah Walker told me it would be really tough and time-consuming, so I'm proud that I managed to major in Economics and get the MMS certificate and do well, given the time commitment I have with tennis. Coming from Switzerland, I had never been to the U.S. before, and English is a foreign language, so the first semester was definitely tough for me. So especially now, I think being able to combine tennis and a solid academic career makes me really proud.
GoDuke.com: What's special about being a Duke tennis player?
RH: To represent Duke, walking around at airports or anywhere else, people recognize you and want to talk to you. It's really fun to represent such a great university, but there's also a lot of responsibility, a lot of room to screw up. So it makes me proud to wear the Duke logo represent the university both on and off the court.
GoDuke.com: What will you miss most about Duke?
RH: I think the combination of everything. You go to class in the morning, then you have a couple hours off, then you're on the court, and you're surrounded by great people everywhere. In the classroom you have excellent professors and some of the smartest kids in the country. Then you step into this building, and you have an amazing coaching staff to work with, your teammates are amazing tennis players. You're just surrounded by the elite, and that pushes you forward every day. That's what I really like about this place.
GoDuke.com: What are your three favorite restaurants in Durham?
RH: Vin Rouge, Watts Grocery, and Mad Hatters.
GoDuke.com: What was the biggest cultural change you had from Switzerland to Duke?
RH: Definitely food, and probably also some of the characteristics of people. I really appreciate how outgoing and helpful people are here, but I also realize that a lot of people can be pretty superficial at first. It's definitely different in Europe, where people are more reserved at the beginning, but as you get to know them better they begin to open up and you can have a deeper relationship. So here at Duke, my really close circle of friends is pretty small, but then you have a ton of friends who know you, but don't really know you. But other than that, it didn't take me too long to adjust.
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