When asked why many Illinois high school tennis players chooseWest Coast or southern schools over Northwestern, coach ClairePollard pointed to one deciding factor.
“The No. 1 reason is the weather,” Pollard said. “Everyonethinks that California is such a glamorous place: blue sky, sunevery day. That’s what we all have the image of it being.”
With the exception of Katherine Nasser, an Arlington Heightsnative who graduated from NU in 2000, the Wildcats have faredpoorly in recent attempts to recruit local tennis talent. But thistime the Cats got a premier player from just a stone’s throw away– Lake Forest’s Alexis Prousis.
The 5-foot-9 Prousis is ranked No. 29 in the USTA NationalJunior rankings and led Lake Forest to two consecutive statetitles. She finished second the last two years in the Illinois highschool singles tournament. NU assistant coach Leigh Weinraub saidProusis is solid in all areas of her game and would fit perfectlyinto the Cats’ already potent lineup.
“The kid’s got every tool there possibly is in the sport oftennis,” Weinraub said. “There’s not a flaw in her game.”
Pollard said the right-handed Prousis has every shot and couldchallenge for any spot in the Cats’ lineup behind No. 1 CristelleGrier.
The dreary winter weather of Evanston and players’ desires toescape the pressure of pushy parents put NU at a disadvantage whencompeting for recruits, according to Weinraub, who handles most ofthe recruiting. To combat the problem, Pollard has drawn from theinternational ranks, bringing in players from France, England andRomania.
Competing with schools that offer sunshine year round, Pollardand Weinraub convinced the highly touted Prousis to stay home andjoin the Cats next year. Weinraub said although she was enamoredwith Prousis from the first time she saw her play, she was notoptimistic that the Cats could land a player who was turningcoaches’ heads across the country.
“Initially, when I first started seeing her play, I was totallyobsessed with her game but figured there was no chance that wecould get her,” Weinraub said. “My vibe was that she was going toleave for California.”
To woo Prousis, Weinraub said she used a casual, friendlyapproach in her e-mails and phone calls. She avoided pushing toohard in an effort to make the top prospect feel comfortable.
The tactics worked, as Prousis chose NU over schools such asStanford, Vanderbilt and California. Prousis said the combinedefforts of Pollard and Weinraub persuaded her to come to NU,calling Weinraub the “friendly one,” and describing Pollard asprofessional and business-like.
“They (Pollard and Weinraub) did a really good job becausepeople didn’t think I was going to go to Northwestern,” Prousissaid. “I wanted to go far away, but it just ended up that I lovedthe school that was closest to home.”
Prousis said she was looking forward to the support that playingon the team would bring, and expressed excitement over becomingpart of a program that has risen to national prominence underPollard’s leadership.
Pollard hopes the addition of Prousis will foster more localsupport for the team, improving the Cats’ home-court advantagewhile making NU a more attractive choice for more local high schooltennis players.
“As a university here in Chicago we should make a commitment totry to get every Illinois kid that can aid our program,” Pollardsaid. “Having (Prousis) in our program next year is going toproduce a lot of interest.”
