The Daily O’Collegian

In a program that boasts more world players than U.S. players, the OSU women’s tennis team added two Australian players to its roster this fall.

Jo-Anne Karaitiana and Karolina Wlodarczak are true freshmen and new to the United States. The transition to another country becomes easier, though, with a team and a coach who deal with the same situation each year.

Julius Lubicz-Majewski is entering his 19th year as coach of the team

“For a lot of our overseas players, the environment here is pretty tough,” Lubicz-Majewski said. “It can be difficult for them to adjust.”

Wlodarczak credited the team’s closeness with helping her get used to being so far from home. She said she still finds it difficult, at times, being away from her family, but the girls on the team help a great deal.

“We try and go to lunch or dinner a few times a week,” Wlodarczak said. “The girls have really been there for me.”

Wlodarczak will be sitting out this year but said she hopes the team will be able to do the best it can to continue the program’s winning tradition.

OSU has had four conference championships and four appearances at the National Indoor Championships under Lubicz-Majewski, the most recent titles coming in 2003 and 2002 respectively.

“Coming here, I didn’t think the standard was going to be as good as it is,” Karaitiana said. “All the girls are really great (players).”

With the season just getting underway, the team has been focusing the majority of its energy on getting conditioned and ready to play.

“We play a ton of matches before we start play,” Karaitiana said. “We also do a lot of drilling and plenty of singles and doubles, trying to find which combinations work the best.”

Lubicz-Majewski knows the team is young, but still expects a good season. He said the improvement will be evident before too long.

“We did very well at our first tournament,” Lubicz-Majewski said. “Our No. 1 player won it. She upset a girl from Arkansas who was top-20 in the world.”

With only three returning players from last year’s team, Lubicz-Majewski is optimistic about the team’s chances. He said no matter what happens this season, he wants consistency from his team.

“I know that once the girls get used to the weather and the hard courts (they usually play on clay), you will really start to see the progress they are making,” Lubicz-Majewski said.