International trio serves up diverse culture for men’s tennis team

While the Ithaca College men’s tennis team has the smallest roster out of the 11 varsity men’s teams at the college, it boasts the largest international student-athlete presence. Out of the nine players on their roster, three of them played high school tennis outside of the United States. 

According to the official NCAA demographics, tennis has the highest representation of international student-athletes in the NCAA. Out of all Division I male tennis players, 61% come from outside of the United States. However, that number drops to about just 10% at the Division III level, where schools cannot give out athletic scholarships.

This puts the South Hill squad above the mean for a D–III program. The Bombers have two players who grew up in Mexico: sophomore Emiliano Pedrero, who is competing in Spring 2025, and junior Carlos Hernandez, who is studying abroad but played his first two years. Sophomore Gijs Fidler played high school tennis in Aruba, where he grew up. Junior Siddharth Vaada played high school tennis at Forest Trail Academy in Florida, but his family lives in India and he returns there during school breaks. 

Both Fidler and Pedrero said they dreamed of playing collegiate tennis in the United States since they began playing tennis as children.

“Realistically, [for] everybody that plays competitive tennis in Mexico, the goal is to come to the U.S. and play college tennis,” Pedrero said. 

Pedrero said collegiate tennis in Mexico does exist, but is nowhere near the level of the NCAA. Fidler said he did not even have the choice to play collegiately in his native country.

“The Netherlands doesn’t have any college athletics, so if I would have gone there, I would just be studying and playing a side of tennis,” Fidler said. “Here, I can play it at a collegiate level with a team, with teammates and support by the school, so it’s a great opportunity that I’ve always wanted.”

Fidler and Pedrero were both recruited by Chris Hayes ’16, who was the head coach of the program from 2020-23 before Tom Rishcoff took over. Despite not being recruited by Rishcoff, Pedrero said that personally he did not feel nervous to join the team in Fall 2023.

“[Rishcoff] was there since the first day, and both me and [Fidler] have shown him a lot of loyalty and he has shown us that loyalty [back],” Pedrero said. 

While Rishcoff did not recruit any international players during his first season at the helm, it is certainly in the cards for him to do so. He said he travels all over the country to find the best players to bring to South Hill. He said that during the winter he travels to showcases in Florida and California, and many of the great players at those showcases are international students.

“What I’m trying to do is build relationships with all the players there, see who’s the right fit for our program athletically and academically and then try to ID those players,” Rishcoff said. 

Fidler said he met Hayes at a showcase in Naples, Florida, in his senior year of high school. Despite starting the process of looking for colleges at the beginning of his high school career, Fidler said that this was his first encounter with anyone from Ithaca. He said he had narrowed his list down to five or six schools mixed among Divisions I, II and III, but IC stood out from the rest. 

“Ithaca was different because all the nature was beautiful, and I always wanted a smaller campus but still be in a town that isn’t in the middle of nowhere,” Fidler said. “Here, we have Cornell on the other hill and a bunch of stuff in The Commons.”

The South Hill squad is not just diverse in terms of its international presence. The roster is also filled with players from around the U.S., including first-year student Ivan Kisic from Naples, Florida, and junior Siddharth Desai from San Francisco, California. 

Pedrero said many guys on the team do not have much in common because of their different backgrounds and cultures. Fidler said he thinks this actually helps team chemistry and brings the players closer together. 

“Having that mix of a bunch of guys from different places around the U.S. and around the world mixes well together,” Fidler said. “There’s sort of an understanding and acceptance of each other and support.”

Rishcoff said tennis is a universal sport, and there are not any noticeable differences between players from the U.S. and those that come from other countries. However, he said that having international players on the team leads to a stronger team environment. 

“I think the cohesiveness of the team is so strong because everybody respects each other,” Rishcoff said. “Everybody understands each other’s perspectives and I think that’s what creates the best team environment.”

Fidler and Pedrero had first met at a tournament in Panama in 2021. The two had followed each other on Instagram and ended up rooming with each other during the 2023-24 academic year. Fidler said it was nice living with someone who was not a native English speaker, so he felt more comfortable speaking on the phone with his family. 

Pedrero said any international player looking to play collegiate tennis should look at Ithaca College. He said his teammates will play Mexican music on bus rides sometimes, and he has even taught them how to curse in Spanish. 

“It’s not home,” Pedrero said. “But it does feel a lot like home, and we can make it feel like it.”