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In the classroom or on the tennis court, the University of Idaho men’s tennis team always works hard to be the best while building relationships comparable to that of fraternity brothers.
The team doesn’t share a house, but they make themselves at home at their teammate’s apartment, which is furnished for entertaining the whole team rather than just a few roommates.
The apartment is consumed with couches and chairs along with a large table where the team often does their homework together.
They decorate their walls with racquets broken in competition and hang their Obama poster with pride to show support for the 2008 presidential candidate.
It’s a unique friendship that represents five different countries including the United States, Russia, England, Brazil and Australia. Each teammate brings to the table a different accent, different culture and a different sense of humor.
“We all come from different spots in the world,” said senior Brandon Christopher. “But we’ve all had the same upbringing, we all had the same lifestyles growing up. We relate to each other, so much no matter where we’re from or what language we speak.”
Christopher added that the biggest thing they have in common is that they’re all student athletes who share the same dream — to play at the professional level.
“I wouldn’t want to be anything but a student athlete,” Christopher said. “I live with three other guys that have the same passion as me. We’re going to be friends for life.”
Junior Tim Huynh agreed with Christopher and said the best thing about their friendship is the times at practice or in matches where they have their differences, but when they’re home they’re friends and their differences are left on the court.
They push each other to perform better in the classroom and on the courts. They pride themselves in getting good grades and don’t have television in their apartment due to the distraction and lack of time.
Their busy schedules leave little free time. When they do find time they make the best of it by throwing an occasional party or just having friends over to hang out.
The team is social and loves to entertain. Christopher said everyone has friends outside the team so a lot of different people come over.
Christopher and Huynh said they love to have a good time, but school and tennis always come first. They said they hope to set a high standard for what it means to be student athletes at UI.
As for the Obama poster proudly displayed in their apartment, Christopher said “we don’t know anything about politics but we’re big into it.”
They all agree that he is inspirational and said that “if we were to play tennis with any presidential candidate it would be Obama.”
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