By Brittany D’Alesandro
Senior Sarita Adhikary left her hometown of Kathmandu to pursue dreams of playing tennis in the United States.
As an athlete prior to transferring here, Adhikary said her experience has really helped her develop her playing skills.
“I knew I wanted to go to Texas,” Adhikary said. When her team played MSU in a tournament one weekend, she looked at the roster and decided to give it a shot.
The recruitment process was simple: her coach reached out to MSU before the summer ended. She never even saw the campus before her orientation.
“I had a lot less playing time there,” Adhikary said. “It’s actually one of the reasons I chose to transfer here. I have a lot more playing time now.”
An athletic scholarship recipient, Adhikary spends Monday through Friday practicing and training alongside her coach Scott Linn.
She considers the tennis team to be a part of her family here in the U.S.
“The athletic trainers really work with me, and my coach is great, always looking out for me. My teammates too,” Adhikary said. “We all get along.”
She speaks to her parents, who still live in Nepal, via Skype. They are missionaries, financially supported by churches in state.
“It’s a third-world country, dirt poor. I grew up in a village with dirt roads, no running water, no electricity,” Adhikary said.
She said her life here is nothing like how she grew up.
“It’s extremely different. We had a well in my backyard, and a pump in the bathroom,” Adhikary said.
For her, living without running water is how every kid grew up, and not having electricity was normal.
“For people outside or who haven’t been there, that is culture shock,” Adhikary said.
Like her parents, Adhikary goes on mission trips. She has been to Mexicali, and to Nepal through a mission provided by Athletes in Action, where the tennis team was involved.
“I got to go back home on a mission trip and play tennis,” Adhikary said, “That was pretty cool.”
She said it was hard adjusting to not having her parents around, but she has gotten used to it.
“Right now, they are in the city, so that’s how they can talk to me,”Adhikary said.
Until the next time she visits, Adhikary will stay busy competing for regional and state tennis titles and studying for her double major in graphic design and athletic training.
“Those are like the two most consuming majors timewise,” Adhikary said, “but I have enjoyed it very much.”
Between athletics and her studies, Adhikary enjoys going to hang out with friends.
“You always have time to make friends,” Adhikary said. “I really enjoy going to the falls and going on hikes and stuff.”
She said in a small town like this, sometimes people have to invent their own fun, but Wichita Falls is good place to do it.
After her eligibility to play tennis expires, her plans are to finish her double major and find an outlet for tennis that is non-competitive.
She wonders what she will do when she can’t play at MSU anymore and said it will be a hard adjustment.