Andreea Novaceanu
Women's Tennis

You are originally from (Bucharest) Romania. Why did you decide to come to UB?

The UB assistant coach, Alida Gallovits, during my freshman year was from Romania, so she told Kathy Twist that I was a pretty decent player and a nice person. I didn’t really want to leave Romania, but I felt that if I didn’t come to UB, I would always wonder “what if?”.

What was the recruiting process like for you?

I got emails from Alida and Kathy a lot. Kathy calls the recruits once a week in order to stay in contact and be there if we have questions. At the time, I thought Kathy was a very nice person and the entire atmosphere at Buffalo seemed really nice.

Last season, the women’s tennis team produced the best finish in school history, making it to the Mid-American Conference finals. How exciting has it been to help this program attain such success?

I think the best part about being here (in Buffalo) is the fact that we played in the final league championship. It was very exciting to a part of it.

You suffered an ankle injury mid-season that forced you to miss some court time. How frustrating was it to watch the team compete from the sidelines?

I’m not used to sitting on the sidelines, so it was really a new experience for me. I was getting really frustrated and down on myself. Kathy always had the positive attitude no matter what and she said I could learn more from the side than being on the court. At first, I didn’t believe her, but it is really true because I can watch pro matches in her office and watch Steffi Graf during practice. I was doing extra workouts, running everyday, so I was always working on getting better.

Do you prefer to play singles or doubles?

I love both. It’s nice with doubles because you have your teammates next to you, so you are always interacting with your team but I love competing and the challenges involved in singles. But, I love both.

You grew up at a time when Romania had to make the transition from under a communist regime to a political democracy. How much did those changes affect your life?

First of all, when the communist regime died, I was four, so it didn’t really affect me that much. But, you can definitely see a difference, as you have to adjust to the culture. I always love to try new things and explore a variety, and fortunately, I love it here.

As a freshman in 2004-05, you were named the Mid-American Conference’s Freshman of the Year. Did you expect to experience such success in the NCAA so quickly?

No, I had no idea. I didn’t even know about the awards, I was just playing.

What is it like being part of a team with players from seven difference countries?

This is the best experience I’ve ever had because you are forced to be open minded, and I think all the girls from the team are enjoying themselves. You are constantly learning new things like, for example, Tina (Jacobs) wants to learn Romanian and it’s really funny because we experience a lot of different things.

You said that Steffi Graf was your favorite tennis player to watch, what is it about her game that you like?

Her attitude on the court, you will never see her smacking the racket. I always disliked people who do that because it is very disrespectful. The fact that she is always composed, you knew she enjoyed being on the court. It was a pleasure to watch her, and I would always get stuck watching the TV, and I hated watching tennis on TV.

What has been your favorite moment as a UB Student-Athlete?

The fact that I am on this team. I had to choose between three schools, but I think I made the best choice, as I do not regret at all that I came here. This has been the best experience of my life.

04/23/2007