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Natalie Novotna sat down at the table with her parents in her hometown of Vysoka nad Labem, Czech Republic, and made a list of pros and cons. The three were evaluating her offer to play tennis at Virginia Tech, one she first received when she was a junior in high school.

Opportunity to go to the U.S. — pro. Continue playing tennis and studying chemistry — pro. Travel 5,000 miles from the table where she had eaten breakfast with her parents every morning for 18 years — con. Be immersed for the first time in an entirely English-speaking environment — to be determined. Ultimately, her parents told her the decision was up to her.

The opportunity arose because Novotna was playing in international WTA tournaments, and U.S. coaches took notice. Her dad encouraged her to go to the U.S. for a year, and eventually, Novotna accepted the offer. She played four years with the Hokies in the No. 1 spot, but Virginia Tech didn’t have the forensics graduate program she was looking for. This year, she came to Syracuse to use her final year of eligibility and is already starting for the Orange. She played No. 2 singles against her former team on Feb. 26, too. For Novotna, change isn’t unfamiliar.

“She puts everything into it,” Virginia Tech tennis head coach Terry Ann Zawacki-Holdren said. “She expects a lot from herself.”

Novotna started playing tennis at age 7, much later than some of her competitors, but she still grasped the fundamentals through other sports. She learned balance and greater flexibility in gymnastics, endurance and proper form from track and field, and strength and breathing control from swimming.

By 10, she was practicing at a tennis club near her house. The club was desperate for players, so Novotna got playing time early. She stuck with tennis as it became more and more competitive and played against adults in international competitions as a high schooler. That was when American coaches took notice.

“I started being competitive right away because they just put me in,” Novotna said.

Her senior year, she had to decide whether to stay in the Czech Republic or leave and play in the U.S. Had she stayed, she would’ve been forced to cut tennis from her daily life due to the constraints of a graduate medical program. She knew the opportunity was too good to pass up, and agreed to try it for one year.

Natalie Novotna transferred to Syracuse after receiving an extra year of eligibility. Courtesy of VT Athletics

Novotna’s freshman year at VT included months of culture shock, she said. From the little differences in people’s reactions to the extreme differences in surroundings and way of life, she struggled to fit in.

“What’s even worse is when you come home, you don’t fit in anymore as much as you did before either, because it changes you,” Novotna said.

Novotna grew up playing in the same tournaments as SU tennis legend Gabriela Knutson, who lived about 30 minutes away from her hometown and committed to Syracuse the year before Novotna committed to VT. Their struggle was similar: they both played for intense Division I tennis programs, took classes taught entirely in English and missed the same area that they call home. Over summer break in college, the two trained together at Knutson’s club.

By Novotna’s senior year, five girls from her class had left the team with diverging priorities from tennis, she said. She and Shene Disbergen were the only two who stuck it out all four years. The two often spent Thursday nights playing bingo together at Hokie House, a local bar. And senior year, they played together as a doubles pair before the season was shut down in March.

“In doubles, you’re relying on your partner to help win the point,” Disbergen said. “We already had that trust established, so we were just out there having fun together.”

When Novotna found out she had an extra year of eligibility to play tennis, her eye was already on Syracuse, she said. She was drawn to the forensics graduate program, and after conversations with Knutson and head coach Younes Limam, she settled on coming to central New York.

For Novotna, that change was nothing new. She experienced that when she first traversed the Atlantic Ocean, away from her home in the Czech Republic. She knows when to push herself. She knows how to subside feelings of homesickness. She knows herself better now because she decided to take a risk five years ago.

“I really like challenges — I don’t like to make it easy for myself,” Novotna said. “If I see a potential to push the limit somewhere, I go for it.”

Published on March 8, 2021 at 10:22 pm

Contact Ella: [email protected]