Coaches looking abroad to recruit athletes

By Stephen Utz

Collegian Reporter

The University of Richmond is well known for its successful international program, but its international athletes are bringing success to its sports programs.

A majority of varsity sports teams have at least one international athlete competing for them. The University of Richmond has at least 17 international players competing this fall, according to the athletic department's Web site.

Both the men's basketball and women's tennis teams are expecting international players to be important to the success of each team this season.

Josh Duinker, a redshirt freshman forward/center from Sydney, Australia, will get a lot of playing time this year after junior center Dan Geriot hurt his knee during the summer, coach Chris Mooney said. Francis-Cedric Martel is a true freshman forward from Montreal who could also see playing time.

The women's tennis team is led by senior Pamela Duran from Gayaquil, Ecuador, the No. 1 player on the team. The team has three other players from foreign countries who will also play large roles this season.

The recruiting philosophy of both coaches has not been to recruit abroad but simply to recruit the best players available.

"It hasn't been the sole focus," Mooney said. "But it has certainly been an extension of our focus."

As international players such as Oumar Sylla, from Mali, and Gaston Moliva, from Yaounde, Cameroon, have had success in the program, recruiting foreign players has become a strength of the basketball program, and it continues to improve, Mooney said. The coaches keep up with basketball players from around the world and have contacts in different regions so Richmond coaches can follow players as they develop, Mooney said.

The success of the program helps sell the school to all players, Mooney said.

"We want to be a kind of place where American and international players realize that this is a great program to be a part of," Mooney said. "It's a very unique and excellent school to be a part of. By having somebody who's done it and being able to point to somebody who's a tangible success, that just helps the message get through a little more clearly."

Women's tennis coach Mark Wesselink, has been able to recruit differently. He uses tennis academies to recruit players. International players come to these academies to work on their games while still getting an education. Wesselink went to Saddlebrook Preparatory School, north of Tampa, Fla., which is where he recruited seniors Pamela Duran and Xenia Schneider, among others. Schneider is from Oberusal, Germany.

"I start my recruiting in Virginia and then we expand from there," Wesselink said. "So I kind of exhausted the best players I could get [here], so I went down to Saddlebrook."

The tennis academies serve as an advantage to Richmond's program because players can help recruit other players from the same academy to the university, Wesselink said. For example, after Schneider had decided to come to Richmond, she helped recruit Duran, Wesselink said.

"Once you know people and they understand your program, then they know how to recruit for you," he said. The relationship Wesselink has built with coaches at Saddlebrook helps him because he can go watch players and they also help him in recruiting, he said.

Schneider's time at the academy helped her improve her tennis before she came to Richmond she said.

"It helped because when I was in Germany I would always practice on my own and had tournaments on my own," she said. "At Saddlebrook, it's not necessarily a team, but you're with a group, you did things together, and you worked together."

Schneider was able to be in a team environment with good chemistry, which helped her transition into a similar situation at Richmond.

The success that the Richmond has had with its international programs has also helped recruiting, Mooney said.

"Being at a school like Richmond that has an international reputation, has a reputation of being a great school, I think that gives us an advantage," he said.

Wesselink said: "I think it definitely helps that we have a great international studies program, our business is great. Those things really help me sell Richmond."

Contact reporter Stephen Utz at stephen.utz@richmond.edu