Southern Illinoise University Athletics
An addiction that brought her to the states
03/23/2016 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
Drew Hoffman SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - An addiction can be one of two things, good or bad. In this case it's a good thing. Athena Chrysanthou has an addiction to tennis, and the sophomore Saluki has been attached to the sport for almost her entire life.
"I was about five when I first picked up a tennis racket," Athena said. "But, I started playing more when I was about eight or nine. There were tennis courts right next to my school, so that's how I got involved. I just loved being outside, and being active after school."
After starting at such a young age, Athena later went on to be ranked No. 11 in the United Kingdom at the age of 16, and was in the top-30 by the time she was 18. As a nationally ranked player at 18, Athena began catching several schools' attention. The goal for Athena at the time was to come to the United States to continue her career at a university, but where? That's where Southern Illinois head coach Audra Anderson stepped in.
"When I was looking at her video I saw that she had a huge serve and huge forehand. You always want to have weapons in an individual, and she had those weapons already in her game. Between our Skype conversations and her tape, I knew she was a mentally tough player as well," Anderson said.
After only two Skype phone calls, Athena chose to play for Anderson at Southern Illinois University, somewhere she had never been before.
"Coach was very motivated and enthusiastic. I think overall I took a risk choosing SIU, but I felt that it excited me the most compared to all the other schools. I know a lot of people look for different things when choosing a school like location, size of the school, weather, and those are all things I didn't pay attention too. I wanted to focus on if this was the right coach I wanted to work with, because I need someone to push me," Athena said.
After a year and a half as a Saluki, Chrysanthou has become a very dynamic player in singles and doubles play. In her sophomore campaign, she's proven that she's a tough match up against any opponent, against any school. Her singles record currently sits at 9-6, three of the four losses coming from nationally ranked opponents. In doubles she's slowly starting to assert herself. Having a few different partners this spring has led her to a 7-5 record. The singles numbers she's currently putting up are among the best of any Saluki over the last ten years. Not only that, but she was also selected as the captain of the young tennis squad.
"I want to be the kind of person that the girls on the team could bring things to, things I wanted to bring to the upperclassmen when I was a freshman." Athena said. "I like to be involved with everyone, making sure everyone is OK, or if they aren't, help them out. I have the team's best interest at heart, and I just want everyone to be in a good state of mind playing matches."
Coach Anderson added that Athena's mental toughness is one her team's best strengths as well. When a match comes down to the line and Athena's singles match is what will decide it, Anderson knows just from the look in her player's eyes that they're going to win. With that being said, the one word Anderson used to describe Chrysanthou was determined.
Her determination leads her both on and off the court. Athena is double majoring in journalism and philosophy, and is the type of person who builds relationships with her professors, and truly takes advantage of all that SIU has to offer.
Not even half way through her time at SIU, the sophomore already realizes the importance of the opportunity she's been given. Athena's advice to college athletes is simple, but proves that she mature and well beyond her years.
"Being in college athletics is all about what you want it to be. People don't realize this sometimes, but just as soon as you start, you'll be finishing just as fast; it's going to fly by. I don't want to look back on this experience as one the hardest times of my life. I want it to be one of the most fulfilling of my life. It's all about what you make of it," Athena said.
Athena and the women's tennis team is 8-8 on the year, and are winners of seven of their last twelve. SIU's next match will be this upcoming Saturday against Big 12 opponent Kansas State.
