After spending two years at Northern Arizona, what made you decide to come play tennis at UW?
"I was already familiar with our current UW coach Kati Gyulai before I went to Arizona. I was thinking about going to the university she coached at previously, but I could not follow my major there. The involvement and dedication of the staff and the people in Laramie and the good tennis program made me decide to come here."
What are the most visited Internet sites on your computer lately?
"I visit the www.uitzendinggemist.nl website to watch Dutch television, read a European newspaper online, check Facebook and the UW website almost every day as well."
Was it difficult coming to Laramie from the Netherlands?
"Haha, it is such a different world than back home. I am used to the hunting and my skin got thicker from the cold weather, so I feel pretty integrated. I met nice people and love the nature here. The only things I miss sometimes are my friends and family and the fresh tasteful food back home. Laramie has been a great experience so far!"
What is the biggest difference between Laramie and Barneveld?
"The weather is more mild back home; it barely snows, and it rains more. Another difference is that everything is closer together. The Netherlands is a biking country, so everyone rides a bike. Here it's a little tricky sometimes when I bike around."
If you could play against any professional tennis star, it would it be?
"I would love to play against Roger Federer. Boring answer, but in my opinion he is the greatest tennis player ever. I was also a big fan of the Australian tennis player Patrick Rafter, so he would be a good replacement."
If you could attend any professional tennis tournament, what would it be?
"The Australian Open, because I would love to play in beautiful Australia, spot kangaroos and meet some great tennis players that were born there!
If you could change anything about tennis to make it more interesting what it would be?
"I think I would try to involve the audience more, and maybe make the scoring easier, so that more people would understand the game. It is such a great diverse sport; you have to be fast, flexible, powerful, smart and mentally very strong."
If you could play any other sport at UW, what would it be?
"I would play basketball because the atmosphere around that team is great! I love to play and watch almost every sport, so I would have fun in participating in every sport here at UW."
What if any pre-match rituals do you have?
"I don't really have special rituals before a match. During a match, I have little things that I almost always do before a point, like bounce the ball two or three times. When I was younger I was always playing little games on the court, like counting my steps, bounces of the ball, or not walking on the lines. Now I focus more on the match, not on what I do outside the points."
Who is the most famous tennis player to come from the Netherlands?
"In singles, we had Richard Krajicek who won Wimbledon in '96 and was ranked fourth in the world. In doubles, we had Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis (Haarhuis played college tennis) who won all the Grand Slam tournaments and were No.1 in the world for a long period in the 90's."
Who on the team has the fastest serve?
"I think Simona (Synkova) or Paloma (Navarro). They have a pretty big serve."
What is your favorite surface to play on?
"My favorite surface is clay. In Europe most outdoor courts have a clay surface. I love to get dirty and slide on court. When you shower after the match the water turns orange, it makes you feel you have worked hard."
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