Panthers have international flavor

Drury has 27 student-athletes with hometowns located outside of the United States. As a part of the whole, these inter- national athletes make up almost 9% of the 302 student-athletes for the 2011- 2012 academic year.

These 27 Panthers hail from Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Russia, Germany, Spain, Cameroon, and Slovakia. The tennis, swimming, golf and cross-country teams each boast at least one international athlete. In tennis, there are 13 international players. The swimming team has the second most at 10. There are 3 international golfers: two from Canada and one from South Africa. And, the women's cross-country team has one member from Spain.

Drury's emphasis on a global culture could help to explain why so many athletes want to attend Drury. However, a better explanation could lie in the importance of personal networking. Coaches Jarrod Smith, tennis; Kellen Mast, men's golf; and Brian Reynolds, swimming, shared that, often, one international athlete will return home to tell his or her friends, neighbors, or other good athletes in his or her respective sport about Drury.

As expected, coaches cannot recruit by touring the world on a 3-week expedition. However, by creating and developing strong relationships with former players and personal contacts, coaches are more apt to take a chance on a foreign student- athlete if the coach believes he is good enough to be a contributor to the team.

"I can call some of the coaches I know [from different countries], and within a matter of an email or two, get a feel for what the kid is like, their personality and if they will be a good fit," Head Swim Coach Brian Reynolds says. "You really have to go outside of your boundaries to find the kids that you're going to win a national title with."

Not many people would argue with Reynolds' formula, after he produced a men's squad that has won the last six Division-II national titles, and a women's team that has won the last three in-a-row. One of the key pieces of this success has been international athletes.

For international athletes, Drury provides an opportunity to play sports collegiately, an anomaly in some foreign countries. The reputation of Drury as a global institution, paired with strong athletic programs, makes it an attractive university.

"Drury has a good reputation and a really good tennis team with good players in it and good coaches," Freshman Jorge Nadal Volckaert says.

"I have a friend from Spain, Toni Garcia, that graduated here a couple of years ago, and he is a tennis player also, so he strongly recommended me Drury to come to study and play tennis at the same time, which is impossible in Spain."

Athletics can also help ease the transition for these athletes, many of whom are away from their families and friends for the first time.

"[Athletics] automatically gave me a group of friends who I share similar interests with and now they have become some of my best friends," Alana Bellinger, sophomore tennis player, says. "Also, my coach has become a mentor who I can go to for virtually anything, even if it is not tennis-related."