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Duke Women’s Tennis: Finding Unity Amongst Diversity
2/24/2021 4:44:00 PM | Women's Tennis
By Charlotte Tannenbaum, Duke Communications Student Assistant
DURHAM, N.C.-- What makes a team? Some would argue a common passion, or a common goal. But Duke women's tennis proves one thing for certain: it's not a common background. Despite being a small team, the program is incredibly diverse in culture. A common love for the game has brought together a group of girls from all around the world who have settled in Durham and formed bonds that have made them like family to each other.
Senior Ema Lazic describes the team dynamic: "Everyone grew up in different cultures and with different experiences. Especially being a small team, we're so close and we hang out with each other everyday and it allows us to bond really tightly. We'll bring our own little individual characteristics and quirks to the table and it makes it a really fun and great environment."
The Czech Republic, Ireland, England, and a number of different states in the U.S. are represented among the eight student-athletes. The resulting mix of cultures adds an unique quality to the team.
"I didn't travel a lot, but now have a lot of teammates from Europe and it's interesting to hear what they do over there, what they eat over there… everything. It's nice how they bring in a different side and I think it makes me a more well-rounded person just to learn about their culture," says Kelly Chen, a senior from California.
"I think that we all learn from each other," says Karolina Berankova, a freshman from Prague. "They like to learn about my culture, my food."
"We're a big food team," Chen agrees. "We try to make food from other people's countries. The other day, we made dumplings for Chinese New Year. Stuff like that, it brings the team together."
Food is a common source of bonding across all cultural lines on the team. "Karolina has been to my house in Ireland and my parents are going to ship out scones for her because they know she loves scones," says Georgia Drummy, a sophomore from Dublin.
Like Drummy and Berankova, many of the other student-athletes on the team have also begun to blend their tennis family with their family back home.
"It's kind of like a second home," Kelly Chen explains, regarding teammate Margaryta Bilokin's house, where she visited between semesters.
She wasn't the only one to bunk with a teammate over the break: Lazic also spent the holidays at Bilokin's house. "It was so nice being with a teammate for holidays when I couldn't be with my parents and family," she says.
Most of the girls are accustomed to being away from home due to the demands of the junior tennis circuit, but living in a new country requires an adjustment period for even the most experienced of travelers.
"When I first got here, everything seemed really hectic. It was a lot. Besides the team, I didn't know anybody. I was new and everything here is so different compared to Europe. So it was helpful having the team," recalls Berankova.
Being far from home is not always easy, but the team supports each other through the good and the bad.
"Sometimes homesickness does hit, but it feels better being with girls who are going through the same thing. It brings us closer together because we are experiencing the same stuff and can rely on each other and lean on each other during those times," says Lazic. "I don't know what I would have done without my teammates."
Lazic is describing an interesting sentiment: finding unity amongst diversity. Her teammates feel the same way.
"You don't feel like you're alone. You talk to others and realize that they're in the exact same boat and feeling the same way," Drummy explains.
"Our team has done a really good job with making this environment feel like a family," says Chen.
As with any family, the girls all still have their differences. Even within the realm of tennis, the sport that brought them all together: "The alleys on the tennis court, I call them tramlines. That was a little giggle at the beginning when I first came here. And overheads are smashes. There are little quirks here and there," explains Lazic. But clearly, things like this haven't stood in the way of the girls bonding, or for that matter, winning: the Blue Devils have had a successful start to the season, boasting a record of 6-1.
"We're all coming together to do the same thing, and so the dynamic is really good," says sophomore Chloe Beck. And she's right: undoubtedly, the girls have a common love for the game to thank for bringing them together. But the relationships that they have formed extend far off the court and will certainly last well beyond their four years in Durham.
#GoDuke
DURHAM, N.C.-- What makes a team? Some would argue a common passion, or a common goal. But Duke women's tennis proves one thing for certain: it's not a common background. Despite being a small team, the program is incredibly diverse in culture. A common love for the game has brought together a group of girls from all around the world who have settled in Durham and formed bonds that have made them like family to each other.
Senior Ema Lazic describes the team dynamic: "Everyone grew up in different cultures and with different experiences. Especially being a small team, we're so close and we hang out with each other everyday and it allows us to bond really tightly. We'll bring our own little individual characteristics and quirks to the table and it makes it a really fun and great environment."
The Czech Republic, Ireland, England, and a number of different states in the U.S. are represented among the eight student-athletes. The resulting mix of cultures adds an unique quality to the team.
"I didn't travel a lot, but now have a lot of teammates from Europe and it's interesting to hear what they do over there, what they eat over there… everything. It's nice how they bring in a different side and I think it makes me a more well-rounded person just to learn about their culture," says Kelly Chen, a senior from California.
"I think that we all learn from each other," says Karolina Berankova, a freshman from Prague. "They like to learn about my culture, my food."
"We're a big food team," Chen agrees. "We try to make food from other people's countries. The other day, we made dumplings for Chinese New Year. Stuff like that, it brings the team together."
Food is a common source of bonding across all cultural lines on the team. "Karolina has been to my house in Ireland and my parents are going to ship out scones for her because they know she loves scones," says Georgia Drummy, a sophomore from Dublin.
Like Drummy and Berankova, many of the other student-athletes on the team have also begun to blend their tennis family with their family back home.
"It's kind of like a second home," Kelly Chen explains, regarding teammate Margaryta Bilokin's house, where she visited between semesters.
She wasn't the only one to bunk with a teammate over the break: Lazic also spent the holidays at Bilokin's house. "It was so nice being with a teammate for holidays when I couldn't be with my parents and family," she says.
Most of the girls are accustomed to being away from home due to the demands of the junior tennis circuit, but living in a new country requires an adjustment period for even the most experienced of travelers.
"When I first got here, everything seemed really hectic. It was a lot. Besides the team, I didn't know anybody. I was new and everything here is so different compared to Europe. So it was helpful having the team," recalls Berankova.
Being far from home is not always easy, but the team supports each other through the good and the bad.
"Sometimes homesickness does hit, but it feels better being with girls who are going through the same thing. It brings us closer together because we are experiencing the same stuff and can rely on each other and lean on each other during those times," says Lazic. "I don't know what I would have done without my teammates."
Lazic is describing an interesting sentiment: finding unity amongst diversity. Her teammates feel the same way.
"You don't feel like you're alone. You talk to others and realize that they're in the exact same boat and feeling the same way," Drummy explains.
"Our team has done a really good job with making this environment feel like a family," says Chen.
As with any family, the girls all still have their differences. Even within the realm of tennis, the sport that brought them all together: "The alleys on the tennis court, I call them tramlines. That was a little giggle at the beginning when I first came here. And overheads are smashes. There are little quirks here and there," explains Lazic. But clearly, things like this haven't stood in the way of the girls bonding, or for that matter, winning: the Blue Devils have had a successful start to the season, boasting a record of 6-1.
"We're all coming together to do the same thing, and so the dynamic is really good," says sophomore Chloe Beck. And she's right: undoubtedly, the girls have a common love for the game to thank for bringing them together. But the relationships that they have formed extend far off the court and will certainly last well beyond their four years in Durham.
#GoDuke
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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