From Belgium with Love

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat UA freshman Anne-Laurence Bilenne returns a volley in a recent match against Misissippi State. Junior teammate Vicky Maes helped to get Bilenne a spot on the fifth-ranked UA women's tennis team.

In fact, instead of battling against each other like they did in a tournament in Belgium last August, Bilenne and junior Vicky Maes now suit up together as doubles partners for Arizona, thousands of miles away from the site of their first meeting.

After the tournament, Bilenne asked Maes, who is from Hamme, Belgium, what collegiate tennis in the United States is like.

Bilenne, who is from the city of Liege, was eager to leave Belgium because she was tired of how much importance the country places on academics and how little time was left for extracurricular activities.

"In Belgium it's impossible to study and to play a sport at the same time. They don't understand that people want to play sports. In Belgium you attend school from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. every day so there is not (a lot of) time for college sports," said Bilenne, who has been playing tennis for over 10 years.

"I really didn't know Anne-Laurence before the tournament. I thought she was pretty good, but I didn't know she had any interest in coming to the states," Maes said. "After the tournament she came up to me and said she'd like to know a little more about my school, how the (tennis) program is and if it is something for her."

It just so happens that Maes was returning to Arizona the following day, and promised to tell head coach Becky Bell about her new friend.

"Vicky said, 'I will talk to Becky and maybe she will call you.' And she called me the very next day," Bilenne said.

Bilenne completed the registration papers, took the required tests, and after her first visit to the United States in October, decided Arizona was the place for her.

She arrived on the UA campus earlier this month, just in time for the new semester and spring tennis to begin.

"I knew Vicky and Martine (Vandekerckhove, a freshman who is also from Belgium and plays for Arizona). It's a good school and there's sun," said Bilenne, who admitted in the three weeks she has been here, she has not seen much of the school besides McKale Center, the Modern Languages building and Robson Tennis Center.

Although Bilenne had to say good-bye to her family, she has not been as homesick as one would imagine.

"It's fine for me because I was living in an apartment without my family before I came to Arizona, when I was training in Brussels," Bilenne said.

While playing tennis in Brussels, the largest city and capital of Belgium, she was only able to see her family during the weekends.

"She's fitting in pretty good. The people on the team like her," Maes said. "I think there's still maybe a little bit of a language barrier and she needs to make more of an effort to speak English."

Bilenne was taught English in school but learned the language better through watching television and writing with several pen pals in the United States.

Bilenne has only known Maes for less than a year, but has been competing against Vandekerckhove since they were young children. Although Maes said Bilenne still has a lot to learn about how different tennis is in the United States, she thinks that her inexperience, in some ways, works to her advantage.

"She doesn't really quite know what college tennis means to this school," Maes said. "But, that means she can play without pressure and just go out there and have fun."

Besides tennis, which Bilenne says she "lives for," she enjoys watching movies and spending time with her friends. The freshman is interested in pursuing a degree in business, though she also enjoys studying foreign languages.

Her favorite thing about Arizona's team, which is ranked fifth in the country, is the strong sense of togetherness that is constantly displayed among everyone.

"There's a good spirit on the team. I don't see any problems between the players," Bilenne said. "In Belgium, after you finish your match, you read a book or do something else. You (only) stay and watch because the coaches tell you to be there."

During the Wildcat Invitational, Bilenne lost her first set, 6-3. By the time she tied the match with Mississippi State's Nicole Reboul, her teammates had finished and were seated in the stands, cheering her on.

"I felt like my team was behind me and I didn't feel like I was alone on the court," said Bilenne, referring to the third set in which she won, 6-3.

Since the spring season opened last weekend, Bilenne is 2-1 in singles play.

"She's a very strong player and she can hit a lot of great shots," Bell said. "(But) she really needs to learn when to hit certain shots and she needs to learn how to be a little more focused and mentally tough."

Bilenne said her goals for the season are to keep improving and to play better tennis.

"I would like to try to move up to a higher seed and maybe someday have a national ranking," she said.

"I thought it would be a good thing for Anne-Laurence to come here because out of my own experience," said Maes, who is in her third season at Arizona.

"It's just a dream come true opportunity for someone to be able to come to a foreign country, learn a new language and play tennis at the same time."