Long Beach State University Athletics
Grady Making Most of Journey to the U.S.
4/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
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Grady Makes Most of Journey to the States LONG BEACH - She jumped off her bike, unhitched her backpack with the "I (heart) Long Beach State" button pinned on it, took a seat in the bleachers facing the LBSU tennis courts, basked in the warm-but-oh-so-pleasant sunshine and stole a glance at a sky the shade of blue that Southern Californians consider a birthright. Hannah Grady didn't step foot on campus, much less California, for the first time ever until mid-January of last year. But the 19-year-old sophomore Political Science major from Coventry - the eighth largest city in England, located some 90-plus miles northwest of London - has found her perfect "home away from home," thank you very much. "Yeah, the transition has been really easy ... I really enjoy it here," the Big West Conference's Player of the Year from last season said Tuesday afternoon, a few minutes before taking the courts in preparation for the conference championships, which will be held this weekend at Indian Wells. Her lure to Long Beach State for the spring semester of last year was the presence of three other residents of Great Britain, senior Rachael Porsz, and sophomores Jessica Weeks and Katy Williams, who had enrolled at LBSU to play for coach Jenny Hilt-Costello's program the previous semester and whom she already was friends with. There were also multiple hooks. "I'd known a lot of people from back home who had come here (to the United States) to go to school and play tennis and every one of them loved it," she said. "Every since I was 13 or 14, the possibility (of also coming to the U.S. for college and tennis) was in the back of my head. It (the possibility) was out there because I had discussed it with my parents." There are no "intercollegiate athletics," per se, in Great Britain. "At home you can't do (focus) on both education and tennis," she said. "But I wanted to do both." The weather - uh, it rains a lot - in Great Britain hampers the development of some of its best young talent. "At home," she said, "we play mainly indoors. We play outdoors in April and May but it's tough because it rains so much. You might be in a tournament and not hit a ball for two days because of the weather." "And I wanted the experience of coming here," she added, smiling, "so I thought it would be a good idea." On-line conversations with Weeks (her doubles partner for the Big West Tournament) and Williams piqued her interest in Long Beach and led her to contact Hilt-Costello by e-mail. It didn't take the LBSU coach, whose program will be attempting to win its fourth consecutive Big West title this weekend, very long to ascertain that Grady - a star on the junior circuit for England who had already played in international tournaments in Europe, Asia and Florida - had both the tennis and academic chops worthy of a scholarship. And the slender, 5-foot-5 left-hander hasn't disappointed in either regard since coming to Long Beach. She was an Academic All-Star during her first two semesters and advanced to last year's NCAA Championships in both singles and doubles competition (a first for a LBSU woman). "She came here with so many skills and her game is definitely evolving," Hilt-Costello said of Grady. "She is very good at angles and opening up the court (against an opponent). Girls (on the college level) aren't used to seeing someone dice up the court like she does." As for the downside of attending college so far away from home, well ... "Because of tennis, I'd traveled a lot already, so that wasn't an issue," she said. "And I already knew Jess, Rachael and Kate from back home, so that made the transition easier." "And I speak to my mum and dad (by cellular phone or web camera) when I can." As for adjusting to "American culture" and nuances "there are some things that are different," she said. "But, at the end of the day, England is becoming very `Americanized,' anyway." Grady even got to play tour guide when her parents and younger brother (he's 15) visited her last spring. "We went to Hollywood ... Disneyland ... Universal Studios ... the beach," she said. Her mother is planning to visit her next month when the semester wraps up and before Grady heads back home for the summer. "We may drive all the way up to San Francisco and then back down to San Diego," she said. If it sounds like Grady can get used to a Southland lifestyle, you're sensing her correctly. "I might like to stay out here after I graduate," she said, smiling again before getting ready to hit the court and hit some balls. "I'm really enjoying it here. The people are friendly and always eager to help you." And, oh yeah ... the weather is pretty nice, too. "We've got `beaches' back home," she said, smiling one last time. "But they are not this nice." |
