Tennis player arrives from Australia

By Mark Schulman
Assistant Editor

Stacey Wood arrived at UNCP in January all the way from Australia to fill the top spot on the Lady Braves’ tennis team.

This freshman Aussie is no stranger to the game of tennis. She began playing tennis when she was 8 years old growing up in Glengary in the Latrobe Valley 2-½ hours from Melbourne. Her parents played socially and that is where her interest grew for the sport.

Wood was coached for 10 years by Glen Kirstine who found UNCP through Collegiate Connections. From there, UNCP’s Coach Robin Langley guided Wood along with her decision to join the Lady Braves’ team. Other colleges attempted to recruit Wood but she chose UNCP because of Langley.

“The number one reason I chose UNCP was because of coach [Langley],” Wood said. “She treated me not as a recruit, but as a person.”

She did not feel awkward once she got to Pembroke after arriving in the United States for the first time not knowing anything about her new surroundings earlier this semester.

“It felt natural when I got here,” Wood said. “The team is wonderful and I have the coach and the team to thank for that.”

In Australia there are no college tennis teams where Wood played for a league team. On top of her numerous trophies, her biggest accomplishment was playing on the regional team for two consecutive years where she traveled throughout the Outback. Despite her pride in Australian League tennis, she enjoys college tennis better because of the challenge.

“The girls that I’ve played here are amazing,” Wood said. “It’s been quite an eye opener.”

College life is quite different in Australia, according to Wood.

“There is not the constant interaction you get [in Australia] that you do here, living on campus,” Wood said.

Most students commute and hardly anyone moves away from home to attend college.

There are no dorms but apartments are available to students.

Wood is planning on getting her degree at UNCP in physical education and plans to go home during the summer breaks to spend time with her family and friends.