When Kelley Anderson and Nicole Fossa Huergo decided to take their talents to Tempe, they added a new wrinkle to the ASU women’s tennis team.
Both players enter the 2016-17 season as juniors — however, both are first-year Sun Devils.
“Having two (junior transfers) in one year is certainly something we’re not used to,” head coach Sheila McInerney said.
As transfer student-athletes, despite being newcomers to ASU and the state of Arizona, both ladies provide a new level of leadership.
After losing three key seniors from this past season, this should only help the current team develop quicker and win more.
“(Anderson and Huergo) bring a wealth of experience,” McInerney said. “You’re not really teaching like you normally would with a lot of freshman coming in.
“They started ahead of the curve, and I think it’s been a good situation for us."
Anderson, who spent her first two collegiate tennis seasons at Baylor University, was looking for a new opportunity.
Ultimately, Anderson said visiting ASU in person convinced her to take this opportunity. She added that having the support from her coaches at Baylor was a huge factor.
“The coaches were incredibly nice, and Sheila was incredibly supportive,” Anderson said. “When I came on my visit, it just seemed like it was the perfect place for me.”
After a successful high school career, Anderson enjoyed a breakout freshman season at Baylor. Despite spending most of the season at the bottom of the singles lineup, the native of Roanoke, Texas finished with the second-most singles victories (27) for the Bears.
So there's this => pic.twitter.com/BhzcM6zUZ4
— BaylorWTennis (@BaylorWTennis) December 14, 2015
As a sophomore last year, Anderson won the Waco Tennis Showdown wildcard event, and she recorded five wins in seven professional event appearances.
After living in Texas her whole life, Anderson acknowledged that being out of her home state for the first time presented a unique set of challenges. Getting used to the Arizona heat popped into Anderson’s mind first. Compared to her experience in Texas, she summed up the climate in Arizona as “a different heat.”
Attending one of the largest universities in the country proved to be another obstacle for Anderson.
“I’ve had to get used to the size of the campus in general and classes,” Anderson said. “Baylor is pretty small compared to Tempe.”
In spite of these hurdles, Anderson — speaking with a distinctive Texas drawl — summed up this new experience as a “smooth transition,” giving a lot of credit to the athletic and academic advisers.
On the court, Anderson considers her baseline mobility, forehand and serve as the strengths of her game.
She is working hard to improve her backhand, and she feels this part of her game drastically improved. Anderson embraced a new approach to practice, and she was ready to get her competitive juices flowing again: this time, wearing maroon and gold.
“It is very different from when I was at Baylor,” Anderson said. “The amount of positivity that Sheila brings to the court is nothing like I’ve experienced ever."
“Matt (Langley) has so much energy and there both really experienced which I love,” she continued. “I’m just going to do whatever I can to get as many wins for the team, and hopefully this is our year to get back to the Sweet 16.”
Risk and reward
Huergo’s journey to ASU required her to navigate a broad, intricate maze filled with plenty of risk-taking and uncertainty.
A native of Italy, Huergo immigrated to the United States in search of better opportunities. Specifically, she wanted to have a chance to play tennis and go to school at the same time.
“If I were to stay in Italy, I would have had to choose between playing tennis and studying, and it was too hard,” Huergo said.
She started playing tennis when she was 6 or 7 years old. Her mother coached volleyball, but her father was a tennis coach, and Huergo fell in love with the game learning from him.
Huergo spent her first two years of college at Division II Armstrong State in Savannah, Georgia. She recorded 26 singles wins, finished the season ranked No. 7 and helped the Pirates capture a second straight national championship.
The biggest adjustment for Huergo in immigrating to America came off the court - learning a new language.
“When I went to Georgia, my English was really bad,” Huergo said. “It was difficult when I had to go to class because it was hard for people to understand me.
“It was kind of easier with the team because some of them were from Spain, and my parents are Argentinian. I made friends on the team easily.”
While she enjoyed her time at Armstrong State and the winning that came with it, Huergo wanted to play at the Division I level.
She visited four different universities, and after talking to a friend who knew the program at ASU, she was intrigued.
“I wanted to practice more, have more of a challenge and so I decided that Arizona (State) was the right place,” Huergo said.
Everybody else who plays for ASU speaks only English. Huergo said that barrier made it more difficult at first, but it also gave her an opportunity to sharpen her English skills.
In Italy, Huergo played exclusively on clay courts. As a result, learning how to play on a hard court was the toughest challenge for her from a tennis standpoint. At Armstrong State, she had to study the different tactics and strategy that is effective on the hard surface.
Once she got used to the conditions, she tried to fit her game to the surface and make minute adjustments from there.
“Hard court is way faster, and you don’t have much time to think what to do,” Huergo said. “I have to play my game, and be aggressive instead of on a clay court where I can plan and move around more.”
Since coming to the U.S., Huergo has come to love the team aspect of tennis and the bonding and friendships that come with it.
On the court, Huergo is working on volleying and coming to the net more often. She uses her serve and forehand combination to win matches, including a third place finish at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in November.
Nicole-Fossa-Huergo (@NicoleFossaH) takes third and Gussie O'Sullivan (@g_osully) finishes the week in fourth. #ASUTBird @statepresssport pic.twitter.com/wqPbKvzhKG
— Joe Jacquez (@joejacquezaz) November 6, 2016
McInerney forecasts a bright future for both players and expects them to make immediate impacts playing both singles and doubles.
“They both love to play tennis which is huge,” McInerney said. “I think they’re going to be integral parts of our team no question about that.”
Reach the reporter at jjacquez@asu.edu or follow @joejacquezaz on Twitter.
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