Published: April 24, 2008 11:28 pm            

COLLEGE TENNIS: Novaceanu finds second family at UB

AMHERST — Mihaela Novaceanu didn’t come all this way to have Sunday afternoon free.

Novaceanu is here with her husband, Vasile, to watch their daughter, Andreea, compete for the University at Buffalo women’s tennis team in Mid-American Conference championship tournament, which is being hosted by the Bulls at the Ellicott Tennis Center on UB’s North campus.

UB, seeded sixth, opens play at 2 p.m. today against No. 3 Toledo. But the Novaceanu family, and everyone else associated with the Bulls, have long had their sights set on Sunday’s championship match at noon. UB lost in the MAC finals to Western Michigan last season, and was picked in the preseason to finish second to the Broncos again this year.

On the back wall of coach Kathy Twist’s second-floor office at UB’s Alumni Hall is a seven-point list of what the Bulls need to do to win a MAC championship.

“That’s been up on the wall since September,” Twist said. “They came up with those short term goals that would help us reach our long-term goal. And they’ve lived up to them.”

The Bulls went 4-4 in MAC play this season, after going 7-1 in 2007. But Twist said she has “no doubt” her team can return to the final — and win the title.

“This year there is a lot of parity between the top teams,” she said. “This weekend is going to be up for grabs. We’re hoping we’ve prepared enough, mentally, physically and strategically to be the No. 1 team.”

Hosting the tournament is a major advantage for UB, Twist said, even if rain forces play inside to the Village Glen Tennis Club in Williamsville.

“That’s huge for us,” Andreea Novaceanu, the Bulls’ No. 1 singles player said. “I’ve been playing on these courts for four years now. I know all the bumps in the court, how to adjust. It’s that home feeling, like being at your parents house. It’s cozy.”

Even cozier when your parents are in the audience for the first time in more than five years. Mihaela, a general practice physician in Bucharest, Romania, and Vasile, a top-level tennis coach, have visited their daughter at UB before, but never during the season.

“I’m really excited about it,” Andreea Novaceanu said. “I think the last match they saw me play, I was about 17.”

Novaceanu, now 23, is the Bulls’ all-time winningest singles player and was ranked No. 21 in the Eastern region prior to this season by the ITA and Fila.

“When you have that recognition, it helps put Buffalo on the map,” Twist said. “She’s added to the program immensely.”

Novaceanu also helped Twist bring in two other Romanians, Smaranda Stan and Diana Popescu, even though she was reluctant to leave home after high school.

“No matter how many times I said I don’t want to come all the way from home, coach said, ‘It’s OK, we can just keep in touch,’ ” Novaceanu said. “After a while, I started to love everything here, the people. I started talking to the assistant coaches, and the trainers, and it showed me how much of a family spirit is here.”

“Kathy is like a second mother,” the first mother said.

Novaceanu said Western New York’s four distinct seasons remind her of home, even if the winters here are longer.

“The people,” she said, “make up for the winters.”

Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258.



MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Hosted by UB at the Ellicott Tennis Facility on campus. If it rains, matches will be moved to the Village Glen Tennis Center in Williamsville.

Quarterfinals

1-Western Michigan vs. 8-Northern Illinois, 10 a.m. today

4-Eastern Michigan vs. 5-Bowling Green, 10 a.m. today

3-Toledo vs. 6-Buffalo, 2 p.m. today

2-Miami vs. 7-Ball State, 2 p.m. today

Semifinals

Western Michigan/Northern Illinois vs. Eastern Michigan/Bowling Green, 10 a.m. Saturday

Toledo/Buffalo vs. Miami/Ball State, 2 p.m. Saturday

Finals

Noon Saturday

        

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