Adrijana Lekaj is a junior on the Pepperdine women's tennis team. She hails from Karlovac, Croatia. Last season, she compiled a 10-2 overall singles record, amassed a 14-6 overall doubles record, including a perfect 9-0 record when playing WCC opponents. She earned All-WCC honorable mention in doubles in 2018. We talked to her about her experience at Pepperdine so far:
 
Q: How has your time here at Pepperdine been?
 
A: My time has been really good. In the beginning, it was kind of tough moving here from Croatia, living in a different country amongst different cultures as well. The schooling system here is different so it was tough to adjust to the academics as well. However, I feel like I have adapted really well, and my team has been a huge part of that. They are always there for me and we have created such a special bond because we spend so much time with one another.
 
Q: How was the transition from Croatia for you?
 
A: The people are much more approachable here. There are people who don't even know me but they come up to me and try to have a conversation and get to know me as a person, which is really quite different from back home. The food isn't much different but I definitely miss the home-cooked meals.
 
Q: What aspects of your game have you improved on since you came to Pepperdine?
 
A: Back home, we usually practice and play on clay courts, and we would only play on the hard courts in the winter. Clay courts are much softer and the ball spins more, whereas, here we only play on hard courts, so I feel like I have adjusted my game to better suit playing on both courts. I have improved mentally also because I have been put in tougher situations, both on the court and outside of it, and that has helped strengthen my mental game.
 
Q: How have you grown as a person, student and athlete during your time here?
 
A: Coming to a new environment, I have learned to adapt better to new situations and meeting new people, and trying to get out of my comfort zone, just trying to push myself to be a better person. I have improved my English significantly and that has helped all aspects of my studies. As an athlete, just supporting my team more because tennis is such an individual sport and now that I am on a team I think about them much more and focusing on not being so self-oriented.
 
Q: What has been your favorite moment so far?
 
A: When we qualified for the NCAA Championships last year, that was a pretty sweet feeling and we got to play here on our home courts, which was really cool.
 
Q: What are you looking forward to for the spring season?
 
A: I am looking forward to the team matches because right now, in the fall, we were all playing individually, so I am excited to get back out there with the whole team. It is just so much fun to play as a team. Our goal is to qualify for the NCAAs and try to win it this year because we came so close last year. We want to keep our focus in every match and try to prepare ourselves in the best way possible so that we are ready for the NCAA Championships.
 
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
 
A: My plans are to either play professionally or go back home to Croatia, or even maybe stay here for a year. I am keeping all my options open so it depends on how I feel when I graduate.