So. Illinois Makes Use of World Connections

When Southern Illinois Edwardsville beat Cal State Northridge to win the NCAA Division II women’s tennis championship Tuesday, it was a case of using minimal resources to achieve maximum results.

Cougar Coach Bob Meyers has eight players and only 2 1/2 scholarships. But Meyers stretches his program’s budget to lengths that would make anyone who ever clipped a coupon jealous.

While seven of CSUN’s eight players are from the Valley, five of Southern Illinois’ six singles players are from outside of Illinois. One is from Sweden and another from South Africa.

Two players in particular--Christina Bokelund and Portia George--were crucial to the Cougars’ 5-4 victory over Northridge. Each won singles matches and they combined to win a doubles match over CSUN’s Susan Campbell and Missy Conn.

Both received full scholarships, they said, but Meyers didn’t have an easy time recruiting them. He was persistent, however, and both chose Southern Illinois.

“It gets into how much hustling you do and how much you go after them,” Meyers said. “You’ve really got to be a scrounger. There’s a lot of good players floating around out there. You just have to know where they are.”

The NCAA limits Division II programs to six scholarships, but most can’t afford that many. CSUN gives only one, which makes out-of-state recruiting impossible, Coach Tony Davila said.

Meyers, however, has built a strong program by venturing outside of Illinois. The Cougars have finished second, third and first at the Division II championships the last three seasons.

Last year, Meyers was recruiting George out of Columbia, S.C., but he couldn’t afford to fly her to the campus. He quickly devised a solution.

“I scheduled a match against South Carolina so I could go down there and talk to her and her father,” Meyers said. “That’s how we were able to get her.”

George, a freshman, played Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles for the Cougars this season and is seeded fifth in the Division II singles championships, which begin today at CSUN.

Meyers had an even more difficult time landing Bokelund, the division’s No. 1-ranked player. He said it took him seven months to get a visa for the freshman from Goteberg, Sweden. He finally got it three days before the fall quarter.

Meyers, whose top player last season was another Swede, Elisabeth Calander, discovered Bokelund through the Swedish Tennis Assn. He offered the Swedish Junior Cup member a scholarship after speaking with Johan Sjorgen, a fellow Swede who played for the Southern Illinois men’s team.

“Most of the top American talent wants to play Division I or go to the South,” Meyers said. “It’s tough recruiting against that. You can attract the foreign players because they want to come to the U.S.”

Said Bokelund: “There’s so much opportunity with sports here. Here I have the opportunity to get an education and play tennis at the same time.”

All eight of Southern Illinois’ players will return next season.