International Tennis Seniors' Final Homestand

Wednesday, 30 March 2011 05:09

For two UA international players, their collegiate careers in the United States are coming to an end. With just six dual matches left, seniors Andres Carrasco and Borja Malo are two of four seniors who will be competing in their last two home matches this weekend.

The application process for Carrasco was long and tiring and took about nine months. It included the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and the SAT exams. To this day the Spanish-speaking Carrasco doesn't know how he passed, but he said his brother and his mother were his biggest influences, supporting him along the way.

"Learning English was not a language barrier for me, but a fun challenge," Carrasco said. "I enjoyed a lot my first semester when I could not really speak it but I was very curious about it by asking questions, talking to people, and always watching shows on TV. Now I am proud to speak English well and sometime soon I will start working on another language."

"When Andres first arrived on campus he could not speak any English at all," said head coach Tad Berkowitz. "Since day one in the U.S. he has been eager to learn the language and now a couple of years later he speaks fluent English."

Malo, the senior from Santiago, Chile, joined the Wildcats last January, after spending a year at the University of Georgia. In his much anticipated arrival, Malo jumped right into the No. 1 doubles slot teaming up with former UA player Pat Metham. The duo compiled an 8-9 record, while being ranked at No. 55 in the ITA doubles rankings during the week of March 18 through March 27. In his first year as a Wildcat, Malo recorded a 5-5 dual match single's record while competing in 12 single's matches. In his first dual match as a Wildcat, Malo notched a 6-2, 6-2 win in the No. 4 slot.

"Coming to the U of A has been a complete change for me because I transferred from the University of Georgia, and in January, that is a little harder than in the fall," Malo said. "This experience has changed me in many ways as a person and unfortunately in tennis I have been dealing with a lot of injuries during the last couple of seasons. Overall, I’m happy with my decision of coming to Arizona and I just want to finish in the best way possible for me and my team.”

Like Carrasco, Malo's first language is Spanish, and since learning the English language at the University of Georgia, he has come a long way to exceed and become fluent.

"When I look back to my first class at Georgia I still can't believe that I have been able to pass one class in English," Malo laughed. "Being foreign I have had to overcome many language barriers especially at the beginning because it was really hard to understand absolutely everything. But I felt that when I started to think in English I was good to go and now I'm about to finish my college career. It's crazy."

 "I am really proud of the work Borja has put in coming off of wrist surgery," Berkowitz said. "He had some big wins for us last season even though he was injured most of the year."

This season, Malo has been limited in play due to the wrist injury, but in the four singles dual matches that Malo has competed in, he has only lost one match, to tally a 3-1 record. In the fall season, the senior compiled a 3-2 record, and holds a 6-3 overall singles record. Malo has also been a factor in doubles play this season, even though he's been limited. In just seven matches, he has compiled a 4-3 record. In the fall season, he tallied a 2-1 record, to combine for an overall 6-4 record. For the senior from Chile, look for him to bounce back from his injury to finish on a positive note in the next six dual matches.

“It is crazy that I’m heading into my last two matches at home after this long road that I have had between Georgia and Arizona," Malo said. "I’m working very hard so I can be healthy and I hope to finish my two last home matches on the tennis courts. That is the only thing that I wish right now.”

Carrasco, who is known around the world for his YouTube imitations, joined the Wildcats four years ago, making an immediate impact in singles and doubles action.

Currently Carrasco holds a 6-4 record in dual match singles action as a senior, totaling an 11-8 overall record. He also holds an impressive 5-2 record at home this season at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.

"Coming to the U of A has changed my life completely," Carrasco said. "Being far away from home in this unique environment as a student-athlete at the U of A has opened my mind as a person. Because of the U of A now I feel ready for the challenges life can bring. I will always be thankful and proud to be a Wildcat."

Heading into this weekend's matches and the final four regular season dual matches, Carrasco is five singles wins shy of tying the 70 singles mark in his four years as a Wildcat. Carrasco is well beyond the 50 plus milestone club mark. The senior currently has 65 singles wins in his career as a Wildcat.

"I will miss my teammates and coaches a lot," Carrasco added. "I will miss the daily routine at the courts with all of them, the jokes, the laughing, the tension before a match and the competition."

When Carrasco's and Malo's tennis eligibility is up, Carrasco will earn a degree in Communication with a minor in Spanish while Malo has one more year to complete his degree in History with a minor in Sports Management. Carrasco said he is planning on staying in the U.S. in Greenwich, Conn. to be a tennis professional. He said he will return to Tucson in September and go from there. Malo said once he receives his degree he is not sure yet what he wants to do, but he said graduate school may be something he is interested in. Until then he said he will enjoy his time at the UA.

The team along with Carrasco, Malo and fellow seniors Geoff Embry (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jay Goldman (Worcester, Mass.) will face a talented Stanford team that has one international athlete on its roster compared to Arizona who has six.

"I will miss everything," Malo added. "Tennis has been always a very important part of my life, and now I feel that this part of my life will be complete because I'm not going to play professionally after college. I will miss the college atmosphere and the team competition, those are the two most exiting factors in college tennis."

A Look Around the Pac-10 Men's Tennis Teams:

-Oregon has five international players

-Washington has five international players

-Cal has eight international players

-UCLA has three international players

-USC has four international players

Carrasco and Malo will be in action on Friday, April 1 at 1:30 p.m. against California and Sunday, April 3 at 1 p.m. against Stanford. Both matches will be played at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center on the campus of the UA.

Written by Amber Sleek You are reading International Tennis Seniors' Final Homestand articles