{"id":3897,"date":"2022-05-02T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/?p=3897"},"modified":"2026-02-06T15:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:22:08","slug":"recruiting-champions-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/02\/recruiting-champions-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Recruiting Champions Worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-right:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);padding-left:var(--global-kb-spacing-lg, 3rem);}.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 991px){.kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column10399_7e5f2b-4d dynamic-main-col\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20\"]{font-size:1.5rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-family:proxima-nova;color:#808080;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20 wu-subheading wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading10399_9664e7-20\">They come from Austria, England, Spain, the Czech Republic, Jamaica, South Africa, Colombia, and other countries throughout the world. With skills that could take them to many colleges, these student-athletes choose Wilmington University.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WilmU may not offer the typical campus environment, with dorms, sororities, and fraternities,&nbsp;but it has excellent&nbsp;academics, supportive coaches and faculty, and teams that have achieved success in Division II athletics. And over the last couple of decades, that winning ethos has earned a worldwide reputation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International student-athletes are particularly prominent on the men\u2019s and women\u2019s soccer teams, the women\u2019s tennis team, and the men\u2019s golf team.&nbsp;Those coaches have found that athletes from foreign&nbsp;countries make unique and valuable contributions to their squads as they compete in the demanding Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Men\u2019s Soccer<\/h2>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image10399_d1836f-c0 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image10399_d1836f-c0 alignwide size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/NICK-AND-KON-web-scaled-1-768x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-3900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/NICK-AND-KON-web-scaled-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/NICK-AND-KON-web-scaled-1-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/NICK-AND-KON-web-scaled-1-719x480.jpg 719w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/NICK-AND-KON-web-scaled-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/NICK-AND-KON-web-scaled-1-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption><em>Head Coach Nick Papanicolas and Konstantinos Parisis<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Nick Papanicolas&nbsp;started coaching at WilmU in 2003 and recruited his first player from a foreign country two years later. A first generation Greek-American, Papanicolas says he \u201calways wanted a team full of student-athletes from different parts of the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mission accomplished. His current team has athletes from 15 countries, and his coaching staff hails from six countries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Papanicolas says international&nbsp;student-athletes had an almost immediate impact, and not just on the soccer pitch. \u201cWhen I started bringing in more international athletes, my team GPA went way up,\u201d he says. \u201cAll our Academic All-Americans are international student-athletes. They have made a positive impression on the campus community and staff, they\u2019ve been a pleasure to have on my team, and the diversity is essential to our success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCoach Nick\u201d says WilmU\u2019s size is not a deterrent to recruiting. \u201cThe University may be \u2018small\u2019 in some ways, but we have many things that other universities don\u2019t. For example, low tuition and low cost of living in Delaware. Also, in the last 10 years my program has been nationally ranked, which definitely attracts athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before COVID, Papanicolas sometimes traveled to countries like Colombia, Jamaica, Canada and England, and complemented his in-person recruiting with YouTube videos. \u201cCOVID brought on the use of Zoom in order to communicate with the athletes, which was a huge help,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Athlete placement agencies, particularly active in Europe, are&nbsp;another recruiting tool, and they are well aware of the University\u2019s prowess in soccer. When&nbsp;Ellis McSharry, a junior from England, was contacted by Papanicolas, he had never heard of WilmU. \u201cBut my agency explained to me the success and high standards that it has been competing at for many seasons,\u201d says McSharry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Business Management major had multiple offers from U.S. schools and originally committed to a college in Florida. \u201cBut once I heard from Coach Nick and learned about Wilmington, I couldn\u2019t turn down such a good opportunity,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McSharry, who also competed for the University\u2019s track and field team, arrived in Wilmington in 2018. He acknowledges that there was a period&nbsp;of adjustment, both socially and academically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think without dorms on campus it\u2019s a lot harder for international student athletes coming into the country, as they have to move into a house,\u201d he says, adding that Coach Nick prepares international athletes in advance for everything they might need to move to a new country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The classroom also initially was a challenge. \u201cThe way they grade and use APA in America&nbsp;was very difficult,\u201d McSharry says. \u201cBut WilmU helped me endlessly with this, and every question I had was answered very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Goalkeeper&nbsp;Konstantinos Parisis,&nbsp;from Greece, did extensive research on the University after Papanicolas contacted him. \u201cThe school\u2019s program had one of the best records in 2019, and was located in a very nice area close to major cities, and that immediately grabbed my interest,\u201d Parisis says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He got plenty of playing time in the&nbsp;fall of 2021 as a redshirt freshman, and&nbsp;he\u2019s also doing well in his Sports Management major.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe fact that Wil-mington offers such small classes is one of my favorite things,\u201d&nbsp;says Konstantinos. \u201cIn the four&nbsp;classes I\u2019m taking I\u2019m averaging 14 classmates, something that gives us&nbsp;the opportunity to interact and get to know each other. Same thing&nbsp;applies for our professor; we\u2019re able&nbsp;to address&nbsp;him directly whenever we need to discuss something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Women\u2019s Tennis<\/h2>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image10399_faf85a-ee .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image10399_faf85a-ee alignwide size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"593\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/troy-and-girls-web-768x593.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-3901\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/troy-and-girls-web-768x593.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/troy-and-girls-web-250x193.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/troy-and-girls-web-621x480.jpg 621w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/troy-and-girls-web.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption><em>Jess Purdy, Head Coach Troy Donato, and Marley Trifunovic<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Troy Donato, the 2021 CACC Women\u2019s Tennis Coach of the Year, has athletes from Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, The Netherlands, and South Africa on his team.&nbsp;He evaluated all of them through video.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMany people think I travel all over the world in search of the athletes,\u201d he says, \u201cbut in fact I have never been outside the United States in my entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He says WilmU has been successful in attracting international student-athletes for many reasons. \u201cOne of the big ones is our safety and commitment to the students. Another would be how successful the various sports programs are. And lastly, we\u2019re in an ideal location. Being halfway between two major cities is a huge draw for people that want to come to the States.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s another coach who eschews the \u201csmall\u201d label when it comes to the University. \u201cI always call our school a family that the students join,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve even had other coaches come up to me and say that the way my team supports each other is very rare. And I still hear from past athletes. Even after they graduate, they know they\u2019re welcome back. Once a Wildcat always a Wildcat!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Valentina Ivankovic&nbsp;definitely sensed that family vibe when she joined the tennis&nbsp;team. A junior majoring in Business Management, Ivankovic is Croatian but was born and raised in Austria. She says she immediately felt welcome when she arrived at WilmU in January of 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEveryone is so supportive, and whenever there is an issue you get immediate help,\u201d she says. \u201cAlso, the professors are super kind and understanding. The classes are very interesting. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She says Donato \u201calways tries his best to make us feel comfortable. I can get a little bit homesick every now and then, but he is such a good support. And he always tries to bring the best out of us on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Donato has obviously succeeded in that effort, as demonstrated by the team\u2019s 2021 season, when the Wildcats won the conference championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A key member of the team is&nbsp;Jessica Purdy, from England,&nbsp;who transferred from Emporia State University in Kansas to pursue a degree in Liberal Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image10399_fb1af4-9e .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image10399_fb1af4-9e\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"417\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GIRLS-web-768x417.jpg\" alt=\"Tennis players\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-3902\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GIRLS-web-768x417.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GIRLS-web-250x136.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GIRLS-web-750x408.jpg 750w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GIRLS-web-1536x835.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/GIRLS-web.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption><em>Fenna Swaan, Valentina Ivankovic, Begona Gomar, Jess Purdy, Larize Nel, Marley Trifunovic, and Neus Ramos Moreno<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>She is excelling on the court, where she plays number 1 or 2 singles and number 2 doubles, and in the classroom, where she\u2019s close to a 4.0 GPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been happy at WilmU so far because everyone is welcoming and friendly,\u201d says Purdy. \u201cThe classes, either online or face-to-face, are manageable, and the professors have been helpful.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A senior academically but a sophomore athletically, she says she may use her two remaining years of eligibility to pursue an MBA.&nbsp;\u201cIf not,\u201d she says, \u201cI\u2019ll return to England and either complete a master\u2019s degree there or coach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another tennis player,&nbsp;Larize Nel, is proud of the team\u2019s academic excellence. \u201cWe had the best GPA among all the sports,\u201d says the Accounting major, who hails from South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She says her WilmU experience \u201chas been nothing but the best. Everyone on the tennis team gets along well, and we\u2019re a big family away from our homes. The teachers are helpful, and classmates are always prepared to help when it\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Men\u2019s Golf<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The men\u2019s golf team has a long-standing stellar reputation that comes from taking on&nbsp;\u2014 and beating \u2014 the top schools in Division II. That reputation has aided Coach&nbsp;Mark Hall&nbsp;in attracting&nbsp;athletes from around the world. Five of the eight men on the 2021 team came from foreign lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur schedule definitely helps,\u201d says Hall. \u201cAlmost everybody on it is in the top 30 in Division II.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Academics also is a factor, he says. \u201cAthletes can choose from a lot of academic degrees, and international student-athletes seem to like that. Several of them are working on their master\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The whole package brought&nbsp;Jan Lekes&nbsp;here from the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A sophomore majoring in Biology, Lekes says he had many scholarship offers. \u201cBut after reviewing all of&nbsp;them and comparing them from a golf, academic, and price point of view, Wilmington was a clear choice,\u201d he says. \u201cOver the years, it has stayed close to the top of the golf rankings, and the Biology program it offers is also very good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lekes says Hall has shepherded him through the transition that confronts every foreign student. When he arrived here last August, Lekes says, \u201cCoach helped me handle all the important things I needed to do to become a student and golf player at WilmU. He goes out of his way to ensure that our stay here is pleasant, and we are doing good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lekes hopes to earn a Ph.D. in Microbiology, find a job in the U.S. initially, then return to his home country and start a microbiology lab.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime, he says, \u201cI\u2019m living the dream of many Czech kids and I\u2019m enjoying it to the fullest. The teachers are always there to help, and the classes are interesting and fun to attend. I\u2019ve made a lot of friends, and everyone has been really nice and supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lekes lives with&nbsp;Pablo Quintero, from Colombia, and&nbsp;other inter-national teammates in a Newark apartment complex. Hall recruited Quintero after seeing him in action on videotape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A freshman Business Management major, Quintero was unfamiliar with WilmU until Hall contacted him, but he\u2019s happy he made the 2,430-mile journey from his hometown of Bogota.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI really like WilmU,\u201d he says, \u201cand I\u2019ve done really good in class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the golf course, he admits, \u201cI haven\u2019t played very good \u2014 but we still won conferences!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Women\u2019s Soccer<\/h2>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image10399_3fb35c-de .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image10399_3fb35c-de alignwide size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"643\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/JEFF-and-Manuela-web-scaled-1-768x643.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-3903\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/JEFF-and-Manuela-web-scaled-1-768x643.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/JEFF-and-Manuela-web-scaled-1-250x209.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/JEFF-and-Manuela-web-scaled-1-573x480.jpg 573w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/JEFF-and-Manuela-web-scaled-1-1536x1286.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog.wilmu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/JEFF-and-Manuela-web-scaled-1-2048x1715.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption><em>Head Coach Jeff Zoyac and Manuela Restrepo Ramirez<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>During the COVID crisis, Head Coach&nbsp;Jeff Zoyac&nbsp;says he \u201cput a lot more time into recruiting overseas. I did it all by video \u2014 highlight tape and game footage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His success is reflected in the 2021 roster, which included seven international athletes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zoyac has found that cost is a major factor in attracting them. \u201cTuition here is very reasonable, and that helps a lot,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now in his eighth year as head coach of the women\u2019s team, Zoyac says the athletes reflect the rest of the world\u2019s passion for soccer, or as it\u2019s known in other countries, football. \u201cThey take it way more seriously, and they play all day long,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, their game is well-developed when they arrive here, Zoyac says. \u201cThey\u2019re a little more advanced technically than Americans. They\u2019re more polished, like with foot skills sets and receiving. Plus, they arrive at practice early and they stay afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jimena Garc\u00eda Risoto&nbsp;is one international athlete who was already familiar with WilmU when she arrived here because she played against the Wildcats two years ago as a member of the Concordia College squad. When the New York school announced it would close its doors with the fall semester of 2021, Risoto, who is from Spain, began looking for a place where she could earn her master\u2019s in Business Administration and use her two remaining years of athletic eligibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She entered the transfer portal, and received several offers. But after a couple of meetings with Zoyac and&nbsp;Assistant Coach&nbsp;Doug Cunningham,&nbsp;she says, \u201cI decided that Wilmington University was a good program, and I committed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Risoto earned playing time almost immediately, but it wasn\u2019t easy. \u201cI knew from the very beginning that I needed to work even harder to get a spot here,\u201d she says, \u201cnot only because I was new and came from another team, but also because we have 31 athletes on the roster, which makes everything harder as well as exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so thankful and happy for the spot I\u2019m in now,\u201d says Risoto. Zoyac made sure she was prepared from the beginning, something for which Risoto is grateful. \u201cBeing away from home, any help means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After she earns her master\u2019s, her plans are uncertain. \u201cAs of right now, I have no idea what I want to do when I graduate, either staying in America or going back to Spain,\u201d says Risoto. \u201cThe only thing I know for sure is that I am living this experience, which for me is not only an opportunity, but also a privilege, to the maximum. I\u2019m excited to be here and ready to keep gathering good memories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Manuela Restrepo Ramirez&nbsp;took a proactive approach to the&nbsp;recruiting game when she graduated from high school in Medellin, Colombia, last year. \u201cI recorded some games of me playing with my club and state team and sent them out,\u201d she says. She received many offers, \u201cbut Wilmington was the one I liked and felt more comfortable with,\u201d she says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Restrepo Ramirez was totally unfamiliar with Wilmington, she says she \u201cinstantly felt comfortable, and I knew it was going to be an incredible experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A Business Management major,&nbsp;Restrepo Ramirez says, \u201cAcademic-ally it has been great, I have always been a good student so adapting to the University wasn\u2019t difficult for me.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the field, she earned a starting position and has seen action in every game as a freshman.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe still have many things to improve together as a team, but the journey we are going through right now is awesome,\u201d she says. \u201cWe keep growing every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Director of Athletics&nbsp;Dr. Stefanie Whitby&nbsp;says she is pleased that the University has attracted so many international student-athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe hope that our commitment to creating a competitive athletic environment for them and providing a hands-on academic experience will not only result in a university degree, but a lifetime of memories,\u201d says Dr. Whitby. \u201cThese student-athletes bring not only an incredible amount of athletic excellence, but they share their culture and traditions with us as well. We are all continuing to learn from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>By Bob Yearick&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ey come from Austria, England, Spain, the Czech Republic, Jamaica, South Africa, Colombia, and other countries throughout the world. 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