Adrian Oetzbach, a junior on the Pepperdine men's tennis team, is a transfer from the University of Oklahoma. He hails from Velbert, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He talked to us about his move to Pepperdine and his first semester with the Waves:
 
Q: How well did you transition from Germany to America?
 
A: When I first came, I came in the spring, so right when the season started, and it was tough to manage my time in terms of school and traveling for tennis. But, I was enjoying it, and it was a fun ride. For me, it wasn't such a big change in terms of culture so I was able to adjust quickly.
 
Q: You have said that the new coaching staff is incredibly motivated and engaged. How do you think they have helped you improve your game?
 
A: Both our coaches are new and they started this fall, and they are both motivated to work hard and are also quite young. They come to the office very early in the morning and leave pretty late, so they are here all day. They have been working with me on my game a lot, especially on my serve and my backhand, trying to make those shots more of a weapon in my game.
 
Q: What do you enjoy most about being a student-athlete at Pepperdine?
 
A: This place is unbelievable. There is a million-dollar view from all around campus. I enjoy being coached by Adam and Tassilo, and having the team around. Also, taking on more of a leadership role this year has been quite enjoyable. My professors have been really good this year, especially with the studies here being much harder, with more units that I have to take, but I feel like I am learning and growing more from it.
 
Q: What are you looking forward to for this upcoming spring season?
 
A: We are still in the rebuilding phase for our team, but I hope our team is ranked as high as possible, and I would like to have a good season individually too. We would like to be within the top 50 as a team, and individually I would like to make it to the NCAAs at the end of the year.
 
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
 
A: I want to play professionally. I would like to go back to Germany because I have a good foundation over there that would help me and get some support from the federation.