Kevin Nathan, Alonso Ravelo and Luca Cantale join tennis team. -Michele Barletta

The sound of tennis shoes sliding across the courts echo through the Quincy Racquet Club as the men’s tennis team’s newest players open up about their new lives as Hawks.

Kevin Nathan, Alonso Ravelo, and Luca Cantale are the latest of eight international students on the men’s tennis team.

Cantale is a native of Catania, Italy, and arrives at QU as a graduate student pursuing his MBA after attaining his management engineering degree at the Polytechnic University of Turin.

Nathan is from Paris, France but comes from a Belgian family and finds himself in the United States in the hopes of making authentic friendships and gaining new experiences.

Both Cantale and Nathan found their way to Quincy through student athlete agencies and say that their scholarship offers along with QU’s academic reputation are the main reason for them being here.

“It’s my first experience abroad and I thought that Quincy would be a good place to start,” Cantale said.

Ravelo is from Lima, Peru and is a transfer from Young Harris College in Georgia. He is one of three Peruvian players on the team.

“I sent my videos to the coach and the fact that there were another two guys from Peru made it easier for me,” Ravelo said.

These three players have had an easy time fitting in with the team and feel as though they have been warmly welcomed by the team’s existing players. The team has no shortage of diversity and it seems as though the players are always learning from one another, both on and off the court.

“I like learning about the different cultures and the different mindsets from other cultures,” Nathan said.

Cantale believes that the team can only benefit from having players from different backgrounds as each individual brings something unique and important to the team.

“I think it’s a good choice to invest in different players, and to create a bigger environment with different cultures and different types of players,” Cantale said.

Nathan, Cantale, and Ravelo are all working hard towards helping the team reach the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament this semester, but their education has certainly not take a back seat to tennis.

“Personally, I want to finish my degree, that is my main goal for while I am here,” Ravelo said.

Cantale, who is only at QU for one year, is focused on obtaining his MBA while improving his English and looking for potential internship opportunities. However, he is still determined to contribute to the potential success of the team.

Team captain, Dane Mechali, is excited to have more international students on the team and believes that they are all capable of helping the team do well this year and for years to come.

“We’re all really excited to have them join us and I feel like they’ve transitioned into the team well. The team has big goals this season and I feel like these boys could really help us achieve them,” Mechali said.

The team takes on St Louis University on Feb.14. And is back in GLVC action against the Lewis Flyers on Feb. 16.