410 Forum — Sports
English Tennis Player Finds Home At UNC
By Chelsie Luhring
The stifling summer weather in Greeley during the month of August brought with it new students, new friends, and a new way of life for incoming freshmen. It was the beginning of the school year, and a family from England had left behind a daughter at the University of Northern Colorado. She was scared, alone, and new to all of her surroundings.
UNC freshman Jenny Whateley said goodbye to her family in the lounge area of Turner Hall. The parting was full of hugs and tears, but it could not last long. People were moving in and getting settled, so the troupe of Brits had to move along. This is when reality set in.
“I was nervous about the whole situation of meeting people,” Whateley said.
Then came the first day of classes.
In her first class, a math course, students went around introducing themselves. She felt her heart race. When she began talking, she was immediately aware of her accent. Other students noticed, too.
“I felt like everyone was judging me,” she said.
Later, during the first week of school, all of those feelings were immediately erased once she stepped onto the outdoor tennis courts at UNC. It was a convivial moment when she participated in her first college tennis practice. Hitting and training with the team gave her a sense of family, and the team became her substitute family while hers was seven hours ahead, almost ready to begin a new day in Surrey, England.
“I could tell Jenny was a little nervous on the first day, but her personality and wanting to get better made it easy for her,” said her teammate, Manu Santos.
The team’s head coach, Brenda Vlasak, also realized Whateley’s first practice was a defining moment for her. She knew along with the cultural changes, there would be possible changes within the sport itself. And there were.
“The sport terminologies were changes for her, and she had to get used to that,” Vlasak said.
Whateley said that there were a few words that confused her at first. The terms alley and overhead were particularly new to her, so she immediately questioned her teammates, asking if they were talking about the “tram lines” and “smashes.” They laughed, but she eventually learned they were the same.
Fighting for a spot to travel on the team was a challenge to her, and she was going to make sure she earned it. This made days with weights at 6:00 a.m., getting homework done, and coming prepared to practice easy.
“I felt like I was part of the team from day one,” she said. “They treated me well, not like a freshman…treated me like everyone else and were welcoming to me at practice.”
Shedding the American myths was the next facet of Whateley’s life as she became settled in with her sport and teammates. She quickly realized not all Americans were “stupid, lazy, and fat.” Some of them supported her in practice, drove her to the grocery store, and now she can admit she has become friends with them. She enjoys eating at Buffalo Wild Wings, going to the movie theaters, and just lounging around in the dorms with them. Any way they can be together, they will.
There is still the distance, though. Thousands of miles away, in Surrey, England, approximately 20 miles from London, are her family, friends, and most importantly, home. She uses the Internet program Skype to make conference calls to her friends and family, which are transferred through to her cell phone. But because of the cell phone expenses, she normally only talks to her family once every week. Not having her family and friends here is the greatest challenge she faces. She encounters everything here without them.
Until her flight home for the summer in May, she will remain here living in a new environment, but not alone, because of her friends and teammates, which are in some regards synonymous. But today her mind is here, at the blue and green indoor courts at the Work Out West tennis center, watching on the baseline intently as her teammates finish up their matches. She cheers them on by saying, “Let’s go Bears!”
This is her support system; her new family here.
The Jenny Whateley File
• Grade: Freshman.
• Major: Biology.
• Hometown: Surrey, England.
• Positions: Plays the sixth seed in singles and the second seed in doubles.
• Quotable: “People play sport at a higher level here.”
• Interesting fact: She has never eaten peanut butter by itself until she came to the U.S.A.
