Mythbusters: Former Long Island Standouts Give Their Post-Recruiting Opinions on Proper College Selection

Much of my coaching staff at Pine Hollow Country Club in East Norwich, N.Y. are former Long Island tennis stars who were recruited by numerous colleges. Sarah Landsman (University of Arizona), Oliver Loutsenko (Skidmore) and Sunaina Vohra (Johns Hopkins) are good players, good coaches and have some interesting insights on college tennis and being recruited. All three recently took a moment to give their opinions on the college recruiting process.

Do you feel it is important to like your coach when choosing a college?
Sarah Landsman (pictured right): I think it is extremely. You will spend day in and day out with that person and it will make the environment for training much better.

Oliver Loutsenko: I think it's important to have respect for your coach in college, you may not necessarily like them, but being able to respect their tennis knowledge is important.

Sunaina Vohra: It is definitely important to like your coach in college. You will be spending a lot of time with your coach and they will determine how practices are run. This is nearly two to three hours a day, so choose wisely!

How much importance do you put on your visit to the school when you were a potential recruit?
Sarah Landsman: I had an idea where I wanted to go before even going on my visit, but there is still a lot of importance to the school visit. I was able to see how amazing the facilities were, where you will be spending most of your time, the type of people working there and the area that you will be living in. Who wants to transfer? You want to pick a school in which you are happy with multiple aspects.

Oliver Loutsenko: Personally, I put more importance into the caliber of the school, both academically and in terms of tennis, rather than the visit. But in hindsight, I think the visit is really important to figure out if you like the guys on the team and you have an opportunity to check out the school's facilities.

Sunaina Vohra: As a potential recruit, I actually put a lot of importance on the official visit. However, now that I've hosted several times, at least in my case, it didn't matter as much as I thought it did.

You all went to colleges a different distance from Long Island. Now that you have all had varying college experiences and you are back on Long Island, how much do you think the distance mattered?
Sarah Landsman: I chose to go far from home, the University of Arizona, because I really wanted to play Pac-12 tennis and be in the warmer weather year-round. Most people struggle with the distance from home, but I personally didn't have a problem with it. Even if you weren't able to start on the team, it’s incredible just to be part of a team. Everyone is included in everything together, and everyone helps each other every day.

Oliver Loutsenko (pictured right): I don't think the distance really matters. College is almost like an escape from reality for four years. Once everyone is back, it doesn't feel much different.

Sunaina Vohra: I think it is important to choose a school that is far enough way to escape the bubble that you live in, but still close enough to your home just in case your parents need to see you or you are feeling homesick. That's why I chose to go to a school that was within driving distance, rather than a flight.

What advice do you wish someone older gave you when you were a Long Island college recruit?
Sarah Landsman: I cannot think of anything that I wish someone would have told me, but my advice to college recruits would be to be sure of what kind of environment you want to be in for the next four or five years. Do you want a school that is centered around sports and your teams, or do you want a school more focused on academics? I loved the spirit and school’s sport-centered atmosphere at the University of Arizona.

Oliver Loutsenko: From a tennis recruiting perspective, I would say getting a feel for the coach's personality in the recruiting process is an important thing to pay attention to. In junior tennis, I had a bunch of different coaches, and at the end of the day, I never had a coach I didn't like on a personal level. Some may have been more or less enjoyable to work with, but we got along on a personal level for the most part. In college, my coach was someone I couldn't relate to at all and that made the experience less enjoyable. Although people did tell me this and I didn't take it seriously, it's really important to enjoy all aspects of college because it does go by very quickly.

Sunaina Vohra (pictured right): I would have told myself to not stress as much for each and every match that I played. Losing one match I should have won is not going to break me. Less stress would have probably helped my overall performance.

How important do you think college showcases are? What about camps where college coaches get offers to come and scout potential recruits?
Sarah Landsman: Having camps where college coaches come and scout can be very beneficial if coaches are not able to get to the tournaments.

Oliver Loutsenko: I actually never went to a single college showcase, but any exposure you could get to college coaches is extremely beneficial. Any time you can have a one-on-one conversation with the head coach on a team you want to be on is also a good thing.

Sunaina Vohra: Depending on your USTA or TennisRecruiting.com ranking, college showcases can either help you or hurt you. If you are a borderline four-star player or lower, I would definitely recommend going to a showcase and talking to the school coaches you're interested in. It's a good way to show them how you really play, or a chance to show off. But on the off chance you are not playing well, it may turn off the coach you're interested in. This is why I would be cautious if you want to enter a showcase. So make sure you are ready to play if you sign up.

Do you think starting at a school as a freshman is essential to happiness?
Sarah Landsman: I don't think starting on the team is essential for college tennis happiness. This all depends on your interest in the game and where you want to see yourself going with it.

Oliver Loutsenko: If you are a very competitive person, not starting would bother you a lot. If you are someone who wants to have a great time in college, while enjoying all of the social perks of being on a team, not starting works out much better. I wouldn't say that it's essential.

Sunaina Vohra: Starting for your college team is not important to college happiness, at least for a D3 school. My advice would be to assess how much of the sport, and how much of the school—the academics, activities and social life—you want to get involved in. Especially in D3 since you're not on an athletic scholarship, you get to choose how involved you want to be in the sport or on the campus.