EXCLUSIVE: Koelzer enjoys touch of home at Clemson

CLEMSON — A native of Betzdorf, Germany, Romy Koelzer says one reason she chose to play her college tennis at Clemson is the surrounding mountains and rolling landscape reminded her of Europe. Koelzer had another part of Europe to help her feel at home Saturday — her parents were in town on their first-ever visit to the United States and on hand to watch her and the Tigers take on Maryland at the Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. The sophomore gave her parents plenty to cheer about, winning in straight sets 6-1, 7-5 over the Terrapins’ Olga Gaistruk in a match where she was down two breaks in the second set before rallying to win five straight games to secure the victory. Koelzer admitted afterward it was exciting to play in front of her parents, who had been in Clemson for two weeks and were set to return home to Betzdorf on Sunday. “For sure, but it also makes me a little nervous because they come here and want to see everything, like college tennis, and I have to play in front of them,” she said. “It makes me want to be the best.” Koelzer graduated high school in 2011, already fluent in English from coursework and ranked in the top 50 in the German women’s open division. After visiting five schools in America, she soon settled on Clemson and enrolled in January of 2012. “The people are all so nice, (head coach) Nancy (Harris) is really nice, the courts are really nice and the girls are nice, so I just decided to come here because I felt welcome,” she said. “I definitely felt like this could be my home.” And while she fit in well with her teammates and classmates from the start, Koelzer admits it has been tough only getting to see her family on breaks from school, often with months in the interim. With that, Koelzer said their visit had been a special and also interesting experience. “They don’t speak English at all,” she said. “They have another couple with them that can speak a little bit of English, so it wasn’t too difficult, but it’s also not too easy for them, like, to go into a restaurant and order something. Every time I have to order for them and stuff like that.” Koelzer’s victory helped the Tigers to a 6-1 win — they won all six singles matches in straight sets after dropping the doubles point — and in fact, the team match was already clinched by the time she rallied from 5-2 down in the second set to win. “I didn’t concentrate very well,” she said of falling behind. “I just said to myself, ‘Just keep playing, concentrate, focus on putting the balls in play, keep it in the middle of the court and don’t go for too much.’ And then it worked out well.” Harris said Koelzer’s comeback was a prime example of the resiliency that is one of her strongest assets on the court. “Romy is a born leader,” Harris said. “She is a fighter. She has incredible team spirit. She has a great heart, and is a super student of the game. Her biggest opponent is herself. She wants to get better, she wants to be the best as quickly as possible; she’s sort of your dream player in that regard in terms of coaching. And she’s going to get a lot better. She’s already a very, very good player.” The victory Saturday improved Koelzer’s mark to 15-9 overall on the season and 3-1 in ACC play. Clemson improved to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in the conference ahead of another league match Sunday against Boston College. Koelzer won her third straight individual match and appears to be hitting her stride, although she says her play this season has been “up and down.” But on top of her play, Harris said Koelzer’s leadership ability makes her an integral part of the team dynamic — particularly on a squad comprised of three sophomores and four freshmen. “She’s gotten up in the 60s this fall in the national ranking,” Harris said. “But I would say her greatest strengths are her leadership and her enthusiasm and her fight. She’s a great player and a great asset, and in terms of team chemistry, she is the glue on that team that helps keep it together.”