Call them the United Nations of women’s tennis.

With players from Israel, Australia, Sweden, Ukraine and a coach who escaped Communist-controlled Czechoslovakia, the Terrapin women’s tennis team has a clear international flavor.

Coach Martin Novak has recruited from far and wide, but says at a school as diverse as this university, his roster list shouldn’t be a surprise.

“We have a very diverse tennis team. … We are not homogenous, but it shouldn’t be a surprise at this diverse school,” Novak said. “But it lets us learn a lot from each other.”

Not only are there a few international players, but there is also a large contingent of players who aren’t from Maryland. These include players from California, Florida and Georgia. The diverse team manages to coexist without much culture clash.

“It’s certainly a family atmosphere,” Novak said. “They end up becoming sisters.”

Most of the team members live in the same dorm, and some are roommates. Even though Eleanor Peters and Jordan Hansbrough have only been living together since the beginning of this semester, Peters says she already knows about the “Dirty Bird,” a reference to Hansbrough’s Georgia upbringing.

In addition to living together, the team also eats together, studies together and works out together. The constant time with each other has led to bonding and has eliminated any initial awkwardness.

“After spending time with the team you become friends,” Lisa Miller said.

Miller, who hails from the small town of Airlie Beach, Australia, says the proximity to Washington was a major factor in her decision.

“Growing up in a town of only 2,000, I wanted to be near a city and go to a big school,” she said.

One issue that arose with this team was the language barrier, as English isn’t everyone’s primary language. But Peters said the team has found ways to make the situation better.

“Some of the internationals struggled with their English papers, so we would all try to help them out with that,” Peters said.

The process of becoming close as a team doesn’t seem to be forced or rushed though. A few players stressed the fact that they usually don’t delve too far into each other’s backgrounds, but they always are learning something new about each other.

“You notice new things every day and learn from how people act,” Israeli Michal Amir said.

The players’ international collaboration can in part be credited to the tough academic standards of the university. Novak said that the academic standards of the university do affect the players he is able to recruit, but he certainly wasn’t lamenting the issue.

“You have to have respect for the university for wanting their athletes to be academically the same as the rest of the students, except to have exceptional athletic ability,” Novak said.

That certainly seems to be the case with this team, as the team has an overall GPA of 3.2 with several players majoring in kinesiology and psychology and some are on the pre-med track.The support of the team certainly seems to speed up the adjustment period, but for some it still takes a little time getting used to life in College Park. For Californian Jordan Harvey, there has been a definite change of pace in Maryland compared with California.

“Things are more laid back in California,” Harvey said. “Things move a little bit quicker here, but the people are much nicer here than California.”

For some international students it was also a bit difficult to adjust. Amir and Miller both talked about getting on a plane to Maryland not knowing anyone at the school. But both seemed to agree that the team and other students eventually made it easy to fit in.

“It was a bit of a culture shock because I didn’t know anyone,” Amir said. “But I have made a lot of Israeli friends and part of the reason why I came to Maryland in addition to the academics and tennis was the large Jewish community.”

In the end, this team is able to mesh well because of a very supportive coach and willingness by the team to accept each player’s different background.

“It’s easy, due to the support of the team,” Miller said, in one of the team’s many international accents.

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