Temple University Athletics

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For Temple Tennis, Bonds Last Long After Playing Days

10.1.19 | Men's Tennis

Pictured: Front Row: Paolo Cucalon ('20), Santiago Canete ('16), Stephen Ong ('18), Maros Januvka ('15), Nicolas Paulus ('16). Back Row: Uladzimir Dorash ('19), Hicham Belkssir ('16), Vineet Naran ('17).

Within Temple University Athletics, there are international athletes representing many countries. However, while international athletes are plentiful at Temple, the Tennis team has become a popular landing spot. On the Men's Tennis team, seven of the nine student athletes come from overseas. This is not a new development for this team.

Former team player and Class of 2016 graduate, Nicolas Paulus was back in the United States for the weekend's Temple matches at the Temple Invite (Sept. 20-22) along with a a reunion with several of his former teammates. Paulus was excited to share his experiences and how they have graduated but never removed themselves from Temple tennis.

When Paulus enrolled in the fall of 2012, there was much mystery about what was to come. The class contained multiple international athletes. Paulus was coming from Germany, but fortunately, he was not the only German freshman. He said that it was great to have someone from home on his team because "I could relate to him." The first point of question for these athletes was what was expected from them. As a student athlete at a school that prides itself on academics, one of the first things you are told is to get A's and B's. Paulus was not sure of this as he said, "I didn't know what an A- or a B+ was" but it was great "having different people around who knew what we were going through."

The time that they spent at Temple is something they will never forget and the bonds they built were something they will never lose. Paulus said about his time "you get to know different cultures through stories from each even though you haven't lived it firsthand." The bonds created with one another are made even stronger due to the time that you spend together explained Paulus, "Driving and flying to tournaments helps aid the bonds that any college student has."

The time they spent at Temple was unforgettable, but they have continued to build memories and follow Temple Tennis after their graduation. Paulus makes sure to follow along with the team's success by "reading Owl Sports and checking in on the team results." He has been incredibly excited about what they have achieved since his graduation.

The former athletes that have moved throughout the world make sure they stay in touch. Paulus cited that they most frequently text, email and facetime one another. However, they still get to see each other in person from time to time. He shared one of their more enjoyable examples when "One of our former teammates got married in Slovakia and we all got together there."

Paulus considers it a blessing to be able to remain friends with the people he met at Temple. "I consider the people I met here to be the most influential people in my life," said Paulus. The group of international athletes that Paulus has stayed in touch with finds themselves in Philadelphia for the last week of September for the things they love, the sport of tennis, the city of Philadelphia and Temple University.
 
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