A Closer Look - Season 1 (Alejandro Andino)
After a season of frustration and disappointment, Alejandro Andino was given a fresh start at USC Aiken on a team who knew how to grow collectively, rather than individually.
As soon as he graduated high school, Andino immersed himself in many international tournaments for a year before learning he could play at a nationally ranked school in America.
“My manager told me about Barry University and how successful they were last year,” said Andino. After hearing great things about the school, the Spaniard decided he wanted to be a part of their program.
“It was a pretty quick process,” said Andino. “There was a three week span from the time I heard about Barry to the time I arrived on campus.”
Once Andino became an official member of one of the best collegiate tennis teams in the nation, he quickly realized how they won two national championships.
“I only played about half the time,” said Andino. “It was really competitive, so you had to win in practice in order to play in matches.”
He remembered how evenly matched every player was to the next, regardless of their individual rank.
It wasn’t until a few weeks after joining the program that Andino earned a spot in the lineup. He played his first game ranked number two, and the next ranked number one; he won both matches.
As the season progressed, he played a handful of matches ranked number five. Unfortunately, later in the season, Andino lost a match and did not play for several weeks.
Even though his name was not in the NCAA Tournament lineup, Andino supported his team mates from home as two players won a national title.
“When two guys from my team won a title, I knew we were on the right path,” recalls Andino. “We were all good players who were confident in ourselves.”
Even though the team was excellent at the game of tennis, Andino became frustrated with the lack of trust and openness from the team.
“I just wasn’t happy there,” said Andino. “Not only did I not feel welcome, it was difficult for me to see players I had competed against and beaten all my life, and not be able to play against them.”
As the season ended, Andino spoke with his manager once again.
“I’m very competitive, and I wanted to go somewhere that allowed me to hold a permanent spot,” claimed Andino. That’s when he heard about USC Aiken’s excellent tennis program.
“My manager helped me get in contact with Coach Dahm and we worked everything out,” said Andino. “The campus was nice, the guys were friendly, and the tennis program was well-known.”
While speaking with Steve Damh about the program, Andino was introduced to another player who was joining the team. Jaime Gusano, another player from Madrid, contacted Andino and they instantly became friends.
“It was comforting to know someone else on the team when I arrived,” said Andino.
This team contains an aspect of trust and a comfortable atmosphere that his previous team did not. His relationship with the team and Coach Dahm is one of the reasons he knows they will be successful throughout the season.
“This team has such a great partnership and we have so much respect for each other,” states Andino. “It doesn’t matter if you have the greatest players in the world, if they don’t get along, they won’t do anything big.”
Andino feels this season will be more successful than the last. He says although they had a good start, they lacked something important.
“This year we have a really solid team,” says Andino. “There’s a lot of tough competition, but all the hard work we’re putting in will earn good results.”
Andino says the key to a successful season is “the ability to work hard each day” and “to practice as much as possible.”
Although the Spaniard was used to traveling a lot as a junior player, he says it’s still difficult to be away from his family and culture.
“It was a big change, but I knew I could handle it,” said Andino.
The Junior tennis players says that because Gusano and his girlfriend are in Aiken, and because of the family-like bond the team has, living in America is easier than he thought it would be.
