Nice Denton Rc Article On Tennis Team

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Denton RC Tennis

Nice Job Mr. Vito.

08:21 AM CST on Friday, January 25, 2008

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

When Sujay Lama took over the North Texas tennis program a little more than a year ago, he immediately began searching for the one player he thought he needed to change the Mean Green for the better.

Madura Ranganathan

UNT had struggled for most of the program’s 29-year history and Lama believed he needed a star to give the Mean Green’s reputation a boost.

That search led Lama halfway around the world, where he found Madura Ranganathan, a shy teenager with impressive credentials from Coim­batore, India.

A solid sales job by Lama and some perseverance in a new country by Ranganathan have put the duo in position to lead UNT into what is expected to be a breakout season beginning today with a match at Stephen F. Austin.

“The minute Madura committed to us, it gave us credibility,” Lama said. “She bought into our vision of what North Texas tennis could be. It was like a snowball effect. Once she committed, Narine [Kazarova] committed, then Amy [Joubert] and Catalina [Cruz].”

Those players were part of a complete overhaul of the program. Senior Idalina Franca and junior Sammie Moreton are the only holdovers left from a 2-19 team that Lama filled out with walk-ons in his first season.

Ranganathan, 19, will play No. 1 singles for UNT this season and continue the process of adapting to a new country and a new culture that was a shock when she first arrived.

“The biggest challenge for me was coming to America,” Ranganathan said. “The lifestyle and the people are totally different in the way they think and act. … In India, girls don’t get to say much and are taught not to show feelings, emotions, thoughts or anything. Here people say what they think. At first, I was thinking, ‘How can she say that?’ After a while I got used to it.”

Ranganathan is still quiet around her teammates, who prod her to open up and talk a little more when they are at practice or traveling to matches.

“I have come out of my shell,” Ranganathan said. “But my mom thinks I talk too much now.”

Being away from home has been the toughest part of going to school at UNT for Ranganathan.

“I really miss my family,” she said. “I had never been away from home for more than a month. Even when I was playing tournaments, someone would come with me. It’s a different life all together.”

It was a tough stint on the pro tour that led to Ranganathan’s decision to play college tennis in the U.S. She was ranked as high as No. 98 in the World Junior rankings and was No. 1 in India in the under-18 girls rankings.

Ranganathan didn’t have as much success on the pro tennis circuit and was ranked No. 738 in the world when she decided to play college tennis in the U.S.

“Pro tennis was tougher than I thought it would be,” Ranganathan said. “I put more money into it than I got out of it.”

She also reached the age where it was not socially acceptable to continue playing sports in India.

“The areas I am from, sports are not something women do,” Ranganathan said. “Most girls don’t play after the 10th or 11th grade.”

Ranganathan had plenty of options when it came time to pick a college in the U.S. Her father played at Georgia, which was a potential destination. Ohio State, Miami and Arkansas State all offered tennis scholarships, while Southern California offered a partial scholarship.

Fortunately for UNT, Lama had a few connections that helped him land Ranganathan. Lama’s brother coaches in Florida, where he works with one of the top players in India. Lama asked the player and her family if they knew of any players in India who were looking to come to the U.S.

Ranganathan’s name came up immediately.

Lama and his brother both know her father from their time in pro tennis. Lama coached on the WTA Tour earlier in his career.

“It came down to the fact that Madura and her family were comfortable with me being from that same region, understanding the culture and being comfortable with me and my background in pro tennis,” said Lama, who is from Nepal. “Her family believed we would look after her as a player and a person.”

Ranganathan said that she chose UNT because of Lama and his vision for the program that includes becoming a nationally ranked power in the Sun Belt Conference, which has a solid women’s tennis league. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranked Sun Belt schools Florida International, Denver and South Alabama among the top 55 teams nationally in its preseason poll.

“What we want is to be the most improved team in the country,” Lama said. “I feel like we have a chance if we stay healthy. We want to make a run in the Sun Belt Conference tournament and be ranked among the top 75 programs in the country, if not the top 50. If we accomplish those goals, it will be one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NCAA tennis history.”

Lama’s confidence in UNT’s ability to reach that goal is based largely on Ranganathan, who has an uncommon amount of experience for a college freshman from her time on the pro tour.

Ranganathan finished with a 10-6 record in the fall and won nine of her last 12 matches, a span in which she beat players from Baylor, Rice and TCU.

“I didn’t think much about how good I could be until the fall when I went to regionals,” Ranganathan said. “I looked at all those players and realized I am not all that far away from the top players in the region.”

With Ranganathan leading the way, Lama believes the Mean Green might not be all that far away from attaining his vision of a nationally ranked team, either.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .