B6
FAMILY WEEKEND •
• DAILY WILDCAT
ABROAD
23, 2011
COMMENTARY
Arizona’s kicking BUT NOT ALONE name holds strong
S W SPORTS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER
WISDOM
Despite ups and downs, Zendejas’ name shouldn’t be known for anything but family
Kevin Zimmerman DAILY WILDCAT
I ZACHARY VITO / DAILY WILDCAT
From left, Arizona tennis players Andre Vidaller, Frank Chen, Mike Pigou pose after a practice on Tuesday. The trio, along with two other team members, hail from foreign countries but have formed a bond on the Wildcats’ team.
International players on men’s tennis without family this weekend By Kyle Johnson DAILY WILDCAT
Moving is always tough, especially if you are only 12 years old. It’s even worse if you’re moving to a foreign country, and you’re moving all by yourself. That was sophomore tennis player Giacomo Miccini’s journey to the United States in a nutshell. Miccini left his native country of Italy to begin attending a premier tennis academy in Florida at the age of 12. “It was tough in the beginning but then you get used to it, like all other things,” Miccini said. Being far from home is not a unique occurrence for the men’s tennis team. Of the eight players on the Arizona roster, five of them have an international background. So while players can communicate with their friends and family over the phone this weekend, the impracticality of travel makes celebrations like Family Weekend a
painful reminder for the players. “I definitely miss home a lot … It is a lot different (in America),” said junior tennis player Frank Chen who, like Miccini, moved to America from another country. Chen came to America from Taiwan six months before he began studying at the UA. “It is just very weird (to be so far apart) because I am the only child in my family, and I care a lot for my parents,” Chen said. But being on the team gives players a chance to form bonds with people who can sympathize. “Everyone kind of knows how you’re feeling if you’re having a rough day or anything like that,” said sophomore Mike Pigou, who came to the U.S. from New Zealand. “We all kind of go through the same sort of stuff.” Pigou especially bonded with sophomore Kieren Thompson, who came to the UA from Australia. “It’s always good to talk to someone from a country that’s almost near,” Thompson said “It’s really easy to talk to people about (living in a different country).” Fortunately for Pigou and Thompson, they already spoke
English, even if some people may struggle to understand their strong accents. Andre Vidaller, who moved to the U.S. from Brazil, was not as lucky. Vidaller had to learn a language he could not speak less than a year earlier. Miccini faced the same difficulty when he moved abroad. “When I came here I didn’t speak a word of English,” Miccini said. “So to learn (the language) and make friends, it is the hardest part (of coming to a new country).” Vidaller said he misses family and friends the most, but he still loves the environment at the UA because it offers a unique opportunity for players to play highly competitive tennis while earning a degree. That is something that few other countries offer and why playing collegiate tennis in the U.S. is so popular. The trend of bringing overseas talent to Tucson does not appear to be ending any time soon for the men’s tennis team. Head coach Tad Berkowitz said the team has a player coming from India next semester and it is still searching for at least one other recruit.
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f you think your last name holds meaning to people outside your family, how do you think Arizona kicker Alex Zendejas feels? There’s a family-named burrito shop across the street from where he plays football, for goodness’ sake. Then there’s that whole Zendejas family kicking legacy. Uncle Max Zendejas was an AllAmerican kicker at Arizona in 1985, uncles Luis and Alan kicked for the rival ASU Sun Devils, and another uncle, Tony, kicked at the University of Nevada, Reno. His own father, Alex Sr., kicked at Scottsdale Community College. So there’s some pressure — just a little — on Alex Jr. to uphold the family name. When he hit a game-winning kick to defeat the ASU Sun Devils two years ago in Tempe, it was fitting, considering his family’s history. But then last year happened. Zendejas had two extra points blocked against ASU at Arizona Stadium and the Wildcats lost 30-29 in double overtime. Since then, he lost his job this offseason to junior college transfer Jaime Salazar. But Salazar struggled this season, and Zendejas, a senior, was named the starter for tomorrow’s game against No. 10 Oregon. You now wonder where Zendejas’ head is at. Those two missed extra points seemingly defined the 2010 season. I guess it’s naturally a more iconic microcosm of the season than the fivegame losing streak to finish the year or the bludgeoning of the Wildcats at the Valero Alamo Bowl. And after those two missed extra points defined the 2010 season, I’m sure his family disowned him and told him to quit afterward. I’m kidding. The elder Zendejases probably consoled Alex. They probably told him to
take it as a lesson, a bump in the road that comes with the territory of being a kicker, one of the most alienating and pressure-packed positions in sports. What’s a family for? Of course, the mere fact of his last name meant there was more to it. His name is attached to the state of Arizona’s kicking family, and there wasn’t a hole to climb into and quit. In fact, Zendejas told the Daily Wildcat that he had a class presentation the day after the nationally televised Thursday game against the Sun Devils. That couldn’t have gone well. Since, the crowds at Arizona Stadium have only acknowledged Zendejas with jeers, and if he’s lucky, sarcastic cheers. Obviously, his coaches lost confidence in him, too. So as he regains his role as the starting kicker for the Wildcats, is he a better football player after going through the pitfalls of public scrutiny? We don’t know. “I’ve continued to work, I’ve continued to practice like I was going to play. I haven’t taken a day off,” Zendejas told the Daily Wildcat earlier this week. “I’m just grateful and blessed to have another opportunity out here.” But is he a better man for going through it all? “He’s a been a rock,” special teams coach Jeff Hammerschmidt told the Daily Wildcat. “He’s gone through some stuff. The NAU game he went out there and they booed. How do you handle that?” So however this game — and the year — turns out, no matter what vulgar words cut through the roar of the drunken ZonaZoo, Zendejas can still proudly say he’s a Zendejas. He can say that without thinking a split-second about football. — Kevin Zimmerman is the sports editor. He can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.