Beginning at a university mid-year as a tennis player means being thrust immediately into the season.
One week into the semester, matches are under way. Preparation is minimal since the team spends the entire fall getting ready. And the team has already established camaraderie and companionships. Imagine going through this at just 17.
Olya Batsula does not have to imagine this. She is going through it right now.
Beginning as a freshman in January 2005, Batsula is the newest member to join the Buccaneers women’s tennis team. Just three months gone, and already she has made a significant impact on the team.
It may seem like a tough task for the youngest member of the team, but so far both her academic and athletic performances have proven she has the maturity and discipline to be successful in college.
Batsula’s performance on the tennis court alone has shown the focus and determination of the Belarusian.
Just weeks into the season Batsula went 12 straight singles matches without a loss, playing mostly at No. 5. She has already proven that she will play a major role in the success of the team, as she helped them to remain strong for the first half of the season.
Having such outstanding success so quickly was not something that she expected, but she says she feels as though she is contributing well to the team.
“I do not feel that I am better than my teammates, but I feel important for my team,” Batsula said about her recent winning streak. “I like doing something good for the girls and letting them know that they can rely on me.”
Batsula comes to Johnson City from Minsk, Belarus, where she lived at home and spent most of her time playing tennis.
Since her priority was tennis, she was excused from her high school classes so that she could travel.
Determined to complete her education however, she maintained constant contact with her teachers and was able to make it through school by completing tests and assignments.
Despite her continuous absence, she was considered one of her school’s top students. Getting back into the routine of going to class and attending tennis practice everyday was something that she had to get used to but not something that she minded.
“I missed having a schedule,” she said. “And I feel that I manage my time well here with classes, tennis and study. No problem.”
Another thing that would take its toll on a teenager would be spending so much time away from home.
Not for this teenager. Leaving her base in Minsk was a challenge Batsula learned to overcome through years of chasing tennis tournaments throughout Europe.
Already knowing how to be independent has been a valuable asset to her and helped her to prepare for the move to college.
Like many other tennis players her age in Belarus, Batsula had never heard of the college sports offered by U.S. universities. She never knew that attending a university would be an option for her until she heard some girls talking in the locker room of a club where went to play.
She heard that some of the girls were going to go to America to play tennis and go to school and the idea of a scholarship immediately appealed to her.
She was given the e-mail address of ETSU women’s head tennis coach Steve Brooks, and the process of making the move to ETSU was set in motion. What she did not realize until she arrived was just how high the quality of competition was going to be.
She had heard from the people that talked about college tennis was that is was for players who could not make it on the pro tour.
What quickly became clear to her upon arrival in the United States was that the competition was tough and many of the players are just in the beginning stages of making it on the pro tour.
Batsula feels that she has adjusted well to college tennis and to the overall college atmosphere, she admits that having other players on the team who speak Russian has been a big help to her.
While she knows that she would have fit into a team no matter where the players were from, she said that this has helped her immensely with the studying aspect of college.
She has others around her that understand her language and know what she has been through prior to coming to ETSU.
In her first semester at ETSU Batsula has already posted a 14-3 record in singles wins and a 12-4 record in doubles wins.
With a bright future ahead, Batsula hopes to continue her highly valued presence on the ETSU women’s tennis team and is determined to keep working hard both on and off the court.

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