With the fall season officially underway for the women’s tennis team, the Daily Illini sat down with freshmen Chelcie Abajian and Amy Allin to talk about their individual goals for the season, why they chose Illinois and why Abajian exchanged a tutu for a tennis racket.

Daily Illini: What other sports have you played in the past?

Amy Allin: I played soccer a little bit when I was younger and I played softball up until fifth or sixth grade, but I really grew up playing tennis.

Chelcie Abajian: When I was younger, I played soccer and softball. I also danced. That was quite a failure though. I also really loved ultimate frisbee when I tried it this summer.

DI: What was the spark that started your tennis career?

AA: My grandpa coached college tennis, so I grew up sitting on the court picking up balls until I was big enough to swing a racket. Then eventually I got to practice. My grandpa coached my mom, my dad, my brother and my sister. We all play tennis. All of my grandpa’s children played college tennis. We are definitely a tennis family.

CA: When I was three I used to sit and watch my mom play tennis all the time. Right after, I would put my little tutu on and go to ballet. But one day I asked if I could just stay and play with her, and apparently I didn’t miss a ball. So it all started from there.

DI: What impressed you most about Illinois when you were deciding where to play tennis?

AA: I took four visits, but Illinois was definitely my favorite and I have no idea why. It just felt right. I had a good connection with (Illini assistant coach) Dave (Emery) and I knew Marisa (Lambropoulos) from tournaments we both played in. I really wanted to make a good impression on coaches when they came out to watch me because I just knew I wanted to come here.

CA: I absolutely love everything (Illinois) has to offer me. Academically, it has a great reputation and athletically, the team chemistry and closeness are really nice. The program is making such big improvements and we have big goals for this year. This team is so motivated. There isn’t one person that slacks during practice.

DI: What are your individual goals for this season?

AA: I know I want to play, but it’s hard to set my expectations here because I don’t know how the girls on the team play. My performance goals are to make my forehand heavier with more spin and to keep working on my conditioning.

CA: First and foremost, I want to feel 100 percent healthy from my appendectomy. Right now, I am working with the training staff to strengthen the area. Everything I am doing is making it better. Then, my goal is to make a constant contribution in every single dual match.

DI: Have you had any “Freshmen Moments” since you arrived on campus?

AA: When I signed, the girls gave me a nice little prank call from the compliance office. It definitely caught me off guard. They read off a script that they had worked on all day. Annie (McCarthy) was the one on the phone but she and Marisa worked on the script together. It was really funny.

CA: The girls are always really sarcastic with us so we aren’t always sure what to believe. But they are really good to us. They always give us rides to and from practice and then we swipe them in for meals in the dorms. Even though I’m far from home, I have really been too busy to be homesick at all.