THE world is proving a small place to a pair of Northamptonshire tennis students who don’t waste letters on complicated titles.
Rae, Dix and USA neatly ties the package of the two county players whose three-month return to this country should be highlighted by appearances in next month’s Aegon LTA Summer County Cup, at Oxford and Beckenham respectively.
While Nikki Rae will quit his teenage years in February, Cassandra Dix will celebrate her 21st birthday in October, the pair having so far completed a year and two years respectively on the collegiate circuit.
Rae’s first uninterrupted year in Utah meant he had spent nine months away from his family in Weldon before being reunited a fortnight ago.
Despite embracing the kind of traditional family values for which the Mormon-based religion is noted in the Beehive state, he already can’t wait to return and that’s not just for accountancy studies.
Meanwhile, Dix can quietly congratulate herself on having the gumption to shift universities after just one year. The decision to switch university from Iowa to Stony Brook in New York has so far proved the correct one, both in terms of her tennis and four-year biochemistry degree.
At 6ft 6ins tall, Rae can accurately lay claim to a dominating presence on court in an area renowned for its range of mountains, and some of his recent serves in the States have been measured between 120-125mph.
Yet his freshman year has been exactly that and he will return on August 30 anxious to make a bigger impression and establish himself as a singles player in the Utah squad, which has not been the case so far.
He said: “Not many people get the opportunity to go to America to university and I appreciate my good fortune. Most people are excited when I tell them about it. When we went to New York we stayed in a five star hotel in the centre of Times Square, ate at really nice restaurants and went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway.”
He added: “I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of a nine-strong squad which also contained a Russian as well as another British lad for Utah but so far I have only played doubles in the matches. Only three of the same players will be there when I go back so it depends who the coach Brad Pearce recruits but my ambition will be to play in the singles.”
Known as something of a gentle giant, Rae has had to acclimatise to the more aggressive American style and he said: “It is strange how intense college tennis gets with 1,000 people watching matches; screaming and shouting. Tennis is all about etiquette over here but that is not the case over there.
“My coach has told me to get more pumped up and feisty. They have an ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ mentality and show a lot of videos to back that up.”
Rae and Dix have been in contact via Facebook during their USA year and both have benefited from rigorous early morning starts to boost conditioning and fitness.
“It has been hard work but I guess it has been worth it,” said Dix whose team, Stony Brook Seawolves, won its Conference to reach the NCA finals to meet California Berkeley, ranked eighth in the whole of the USA.
“We lost quite comfortably but I was pleased I got the chance to go to San Francisco!” said Dix, who believes her doubles’ game has come on in leaps and bounds.
“I have been encouraged to play more aggressive tennis by coming to the net so my volleying is much better whereas my singles game is pretty much the same.”