Dreams and goals are achieved with practice, determination and a little bit of luck. For seniors Caroline Andersen and Ksenia Pronina, their small opportunities playing Division I tennis turned into reality.

Andersen is from Bergen, Norway and she knew she wanted to play in the United States ever since she was a freshman in high school. To make that dream turn into a reality, Andersen needed to put in a lot of work during the recruiting process.

“I sent out emails to different schools in the United States and telling them a brief description about me,” Andersen said. “I also sent videos of me playing to many different schools throughout the country.”

Andersen received interest from different colleges, but one particular school stood out from the rest, North Florida University. Former ISU assistant tennis coach Rod Puebla was the head coach at North Florida, but Andersen wasn’t eligible because of grade implications and a transition for Puebla.

Speculation began arising about Puebla transferring to Iowa State to become the assistant coach. Because of these rumors, Andersen focused on passing her tests and contacted ISU coach Armando Espinosa, who was interested in signing her.

“It was a funny situation, I used to coach [Andersen’s] ex-boyfriend and was being interviewed for a job in Norway,” Espinosa said. “Her ex-boyfriend told me about Andersen and the communication started between us.”

With everything coming together, Andersen accepted and signed her national letter of intent to play tennis at Iowa State early in 2011.

Pronina, on the other hand, is from Duesseldorf, Germany and was planning to play with one of her friends at Memphis. The coach at Memphis told Pronina that she would have to transfer because there were no scholarships available for her that year.

“Rod Puebla was in Germany for a showcase tournament during the month of August and didn’t see anyone he liked,” Pronina said. “A recruiter told Puebla about me, and after talking to me that day, he offered me a scholarship on the spot.”

Pronina accelerated through the recruiting process, signing quickly so she could start school on time at Iowa State. After playing No. 2 for singles throughout her entire freshman season, Pronina liked Iowa State and decided to stay for the next three years. 

“Iowa State gave me the opportunity to play college tennis and trusted me with my decisions, so I felt transferring to Memphis would have been a horrible move as an individual,” Pronina said.

While Pronina played during her freshman year, Andersen was injured throughout her first year and part of her second year at Iowa State. Andersen had a bone spur in her foot, which led to surgery at the beginning of her sophomore year.

“It was disappointing to start my college career off with an injury, but I was hoping I could finish physical therapy and get on the courts for sophomore spring season,” Andersen said.

Even though Andersen and Pronina faced different obstacles throughout their recruiting process, they’ve grown substantially heading into their final spring regular season.

Andersen and Pronina are sad to leave the place they’ve called home for the past four years, but are excited to start the final regular season of their collegiate careers.

“January can’t come soon enough,” Andersen said.