Committed to Being Great

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN

Committed to Being GreatOVERCOMING OBSTACLES AS A FOREIGN STUDENT-ATHLETE AT KU

BY DESPOINA VOGASARI

There seems to be a misconception that life as a college student-athlete is glamorous. And, unless you are one or have been one in the past, it might be difficult at first-glance to wrap one’s head around the actual sacrifices involved, the situations in which we are pushed beyond our limits, and being continuously confronted with testing our breaking point – mentally, physically, AND emotionally.

The awards, the scholarships, and the private planes that come along with a successful career remain high-profile and frontpage news. However, the sweat, the tears, the blood, the pain, the injuries, the selfdoubt, and the pressures that go with being a Division 1 college athlete dig in as a stubborn, subterranean reality.

My friend and former teammate, Anastasia Rychagova, is a senior on the KU Women’s tennis team. “Nas,” as she is known to her friends and teammates, is an All-American and former #1 player in the nation. She grew up in Moscow, Russia, which some say is the current epicenter of the tennis world today.

Like most Russian youth, she started playing at her local club. By the age of twelve, she’d already shown an aptitude for the sport. But, her parents were unable to provide the financial support she needed, since it costs a minimum of 130,000 Rubles (an equivalent of $2,000) per event to play in tournaments outside the borders of Russia.

Even at that young age, Nas displayed signs of a promising career, and her family was able to find a sponsor to help pay for her practice and traveling expenses. At the age of 16, Nas faced her first injury, developing a hernia in her back that resulted in three months of forced rest. When she made her return, it took time to regain her form. Due to mediocre results in those first months back, Nas lost her sponsors. She was left with no choice but to stop playing. She instead focused on her studies and was accepted into a Russian University, where she majored in Physical Education.

”I woke up at 6:20 a.m.,” she said. ”I would drive an hour and a half to The University, take classes from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., then drive an hour to my job. I taught tennis two hours a day for nine dollars an hour. I got

Anastasia Rychagova

KU Athletics

home at 10 p.m. and started my homework. I woke up at 6:20 a.m. the next day and had to do the whole thing all over again.”

She soon realized she needed a change. Nas explained, ”I was unhappy and facing severe depression. This was definitely not the life I had pictured for myself. I was struggling financially and did not see a light at the end of the tunnel. I felt trapped and knew I needed to make a drastic change soon. I decided to start looking at opportunities for college tennis in the U.S. The next thing I knew, I committed to KU and arrived in the summer of 2015.”

Being a student-athlete has its share of

challenges in and of itself. However, being a foreign student-athlete can be absolutely grueling. Struggling to learn the language, adapt to the American culture, and get back to “playing shape” after a two-year absence, Nas found herself questioning her decision. She reflected, ”The first two years of college, I struggled a lot mentally. I was still trying to fit in and find out who I truly was and what I wanted out of life. The summer of 2017 was a turning point for me personally AND in tennis.”

Nas continued, “Entering my junior year, I committed to being great. I wanted to become an All-American. I wanted to graduate college and become a professional

Women’s Tennis, University of Kansas.

tennis player. I realized I was fortunate enough to be given a second chance. I felt I owed it to myself and to my parents, who had sacrificed a lot for me. I decided I would give it my all and see where it took me.”

It took her right to the top. During that pivotal summer, Nas transformed into a truly elite athlete. I was right beside her to witness it, and I have never seen someone work as hard as she did during those 7 months. It was inspiring - and contagious. She has an innate talent to motivate everyone around her and to make her teammates try harder, compete better, and be

Struggling to learn the language, adapt to the American culture, and get back to “playing shape” after a two-year absence, Nas found herself questioning her decision.

two months of rest, hoping she would be able to return by the start of the competitive season at the end of January 2018. She originally came back feeling healthy and refreshed, but the pain resurfaced almost immediately. It was an extremely rare case, and the doctors struggled to diagnose the injury simply because it was unprecedented. No tennis player in KU or the sport’s history had ever faced something remotely similar. Scans were done repeatedly, and they eventually showed that not only had the original fracture failed to heal, but she was also developing a new stress reaction in the rib below.

Nas was given two options: try resting again and see if her body would be able to heal on its own, or undergo surgery. Rest came with the danger of the ribs never healing correctly. Unfortunately, surgery carried the possibility of never being able to play again, as this particular procedure had never been performed on an elite athlete before. It had only been experimented with on severely injured trauma victims of car accidents.

the best version of themselves on the tennis court. That work ethic and newfound commitment helped Nas reach the #1 spot in all of Division I college tennis in November 2017, breaking every single KU record in the process.

And then, another setback. Nas was initially diagnosed with a rib fracture that same November. The doctors recommended

She elected to move forward with the surgery. ”I was terrified and felt powerless, but I believed it was the best option I had,” she said. Nas was out for a total of 10 months. She did not know if she would ever be able to compete again, let alone continue her career after college on the professional tour. ”I was devastated,” she continued. “I had dreams for the future,

Our coaches tried to persuade us that our season wasn’t over. Jayhawk Head Coach Todd Chapman would say, ”This does not define our season. Each and every one of you needs to step up. You need to believe, like we still believe, that this can be the best season in the history of this program!!”

And, truth be told, I didn’t believe them at that time. I felt that’s what they believed they had to say to have any hope of absorbing such a devastating blow and salvaging the season. But somehow, something changed those next few days. As a team, we stopped feeling sorry for ourselves. We started pushing each other - and ourselves - more than ever before. We did step up!

but at this point it was a waiting and wishing game. I went to physical therapy and counseling regularly to deal with the situation.”

As her teammates, we witnessed her trials every day. She would come to practice and cheer us on, but her emotional pain was evident, and so was ours. After getting the news that Nas would not compete for the entire season, I believe we mentally “checked out.” Everyone had held high hopes for the season. But the question remained: How could we possibly survive without our best player in Nas?

In late March, we traveled to Lubbock, TX, to face Texas Tech, where KU had not won in over a decade. We stepped on the court with a different attitude than ever before. We played with an enormous amount of fire, heart, and passion. We played with each other and for Nas. We felt we owed it to her. The emotions were so intense that I do not remember much. What I do recall is that we walked off the court with a 4-0 shutout victory against the No. 9-ranked team in the country on that day!! That was the first and only time I saw my Coach with tears in his eyes. He was truly proud.

A few months later, the doctors confirmed that the surgery had been successful. Nas

Rychagova, 2017 #1 Division I player.

would be able to start playing again soon with the proper daily treatment. Fast-forward seven months: She currently plays Number 1 singles and Number 2 doubles for the #7-ranked team in the Nation at KU. “I feel my mental game is better than ever.” Nas said. “I feel as if this hardship has helped me appreciate every day I get to step on the court, because at one point the odds of that happening were extremely low.”

This story belongs to Nas. But it also belongs to my teammates and to me, to all of our fellow KU student-athletes, and to each of you that it might Inspire. It goes to show that the road taken by an exceptional collegiate athlete is not always paved with

award after award, but rather with obstacle after obstacle. Often the most grueling challenges are the ones that many never see.

It takes enormous courage to overcome difficulties that present themselves unexpectedly and manage to shake up our world, both internally and externally. However, when we do face these challenges head-on, we’re rewarded with the most magical of experiences, and with unrivaled lessons no classroom can ever teach. We feel privileged to compete for a school like The University of Kansas, that goes above and beyond for the well-being of its student-athletes. Rock Chalk, forever!!