Name: Maithe Marchioni
Age: 19
Year: Sophomore (Class of 2020)
With the college games (JUCA) closer each day, the teams are already preparing themselves for what is known to be the best four days of the year. Said that, Maithe Marchioni, the new tennis player for Cásper, talked with Her Campus about the team’s plans for 2018 and their expectations for JUCA.
As a sophomore in Public Relations, Maithe has always been in love with sports, especially tennis and soccer, but due to a knee concussion, she had to dedicate herself only for tennis during High School.
When she went to college, the 19 year-old girl got confused on what to do and decided it would be a good idea to talk to the directors of both teams. “I was very happy with the opportunity to be part of a team composed only by women, something that never happened before, but I knew that I shouldn’t commit myself to two sports, because I wouldn’t be able to give my best in court. The choice was very hard, I went to the soccer tryouts but the practice schedule was very complicated, so I decided not to move on. After that, on the second semester, I started attending tennis practices and fell in love with the team and even more with the sport itself”.
Nowadays, Maithe plays tennis with the college team on Sundays and takes private classes on Mondays and Wednesdays – in an attempt to reach the level of the rest of the team. Before playing her first match, against the Med School “Mogi das Cruzes”, she practiced for three weeks.
In her first JUCA, Maithe, who went as a student and not as an athlete, had a bad experience: “Like everyone else, I imagined JUCA something related to training, parties, integration (except for Mackenzie), games, crowds… But I ended up with food poisoning. Nowadays I laugh at the episode, but I confess that I was very sad to say goodbye to Araraquara on the second day”. Refreshed, the tennis player is anxious and, this time, much more cautious: “I feel several things at once: anxiety about premiering at JUCA wearing Cásper’s shirt, fear of the responsibility with the fans and about the food (laughs) and mostly: an honor to be part of such a welcoming team and college”.
Maithe also said that she made great friends and was surprised by the friends the sport provided: “I know at least 3 people of this team that will be with me for the rest of my life. I used to think that the integration between majors was something difficult, but with tennis I just met people from other periods and majors, which I believe it happens in every sport and club”.
Since JUCA is going to be earlier this year, in late April/early May, the tennis team is back to the court and recruiting new players: “We hope that we’ll find more tennis players willing to become athletes and above all, to join the red and white army”.