Two members of the ISU women’s tennis team have brought a new aspect to the court this season – a different language.

The No. 1 doubles team of Noortje Cornelissen, a native of Nymegen, Holland and Sabrina Evers, who hails from Waddinxveen, Holland, both speak Dutch – a language which has helped them identify to each other both on and off the court.

“It is fun for us to play doubles together since it is the only time we can freely speak Dutch,” Cornelissen said.

And it also helps against their opponents.

“We can easily strategize against our opponents on the court,” Evers said.

Although both Cornelissen and Evers are now at Iowa State, they both were recruited in different ways.

“How I got here is a long story,” Cornelissen said.

Cornelissen said she was introduced to Iowa State by a girl she went to high school with.

The girl knew a Dutch tennis pro in St. Louis, Mo. who had a lot of contacts with coaches and universities.

The tennis pro put her in touch with Iowa State.

“He contacted [ISU head coach Michele] Conlon and sent her a videotape of me on the tennis court, and that is when she first contacted me,” Cornelissen said.

Conlon said it was an easy choice after seeing what Cornelissen had to offer.

“After watching Noortje’s video and speaking with her on the phone, I felt as though she would be a terrific fit, and we are certainly glad she decided to come,” she said.

Conlon’s choice hasn’t come without benefits. Cornelissen is a three-time MVP of the team.

She has also succeeded academically by being voted to the Big 12 All-Academic Team.

Evers journey to Iowa State is a little different – she became acquainted with Iowa State through Cornelissen.

“I met Noortje at a tennis tournament in her hometown Nymegen,” Evers said. “We talked about it, and I decided to contact Coach Conlon.”

Conlon said she was impressed with Evers just as she was with Cornelissen and invited her to come play at Iowa State.

She arrived in the spring of 2001 ready to compete competitively for the Cyclone tennis team.

“We are lucky to have both of them around,” Conlon said.

Cornelissen and Evers said the main reason they chose Iowa State was because of its high academic standards and achievements.

“I had some other universities that were interested in me, but ISU was number one because they are academically strong,” Evers said. “I also heard good stories about the team and the facilities from Noortje.”

Cornelissen said Iowa State seemed like the best fit for her too.

“Out of all the schools I made contact with, Iowa State was the best academically, and that is what made me choose Iowa State,” she said.

Neither Cornelissen nor Evers has had much difficulty adjusting to living in Ames, but initially it was a challenge for each of them.

“Living in the U.S. is a lot different from living in Holland, because everything is bigger and the personalities of the people are different,” Evers said.

Cornelissen agreed.

“Moving to the United States is a big change from Holland because the culture, customs, morals, and language are all different,” she said.

Cornelissen said the main challenge was adapting to the practice and game schedules.

“The strange thing to me was practicing every weekday and playing matches on the weekends. In Holland, I played twice maybe three times a week with people a lot older than me,” she said.

Although they speak Dutch, Conlon said speaking English hasn’t been a barrier for Cornelissen and Evers, and it hasn’t affected how they perform on the tennis court.

“English has really been a nonissue with Noortje and Sabrina. Both of them took English classes in school back in Holland, so they knew the basics when they came here,” she said.

Although both women are having successful seasons with the ISU tennis team, they’ve thought a little bit about the future as well.

Cornelissen is majoring in economics and marketing and plans to attend graduate school in Europe after she graduates next year. Eventually Cornelissen would like to move back to Holland.

“Sooner or later, I will return to Holland, but I would like to go to some other countries first before I go back,” she said.

Evers is majoring in exercise and sports science with a minor in health. She too would like to go to graduate school.

“I would like to study back home,” she said. “My brother is studying in Rotterdam and says it is academically strong.”

Evers said she would like to move back to Holland someday in order to express herself more in her home country.

Cornelissen, Evers and the rest of the Cyclones will try to pick up their first conference win when they host Missouri 12 p.m. Saturday at the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center.