At the age of five, Delien Kleinhans and Lara Van der Merwe picked up a tennis racquet for the first time. By age nine they were the top two under 10 players in South Africa. Now, 10 years later, the duo plays their sport for South Alabama. 

"I can't remember the first time we met. I know we played in my hometown some against each other when we were 10 years old, so I think that's where," Kleinhans said. "She was very good under 10, so I just knew there was this really good player and I was scared of her."

The two confess they were not the best of friends then like they are now.

"We were really young and at a stage where we were number one and two, so it was always back and forth," Van der Merwe said. "We were always playing each other, it gets competitive. I think when you are so young you don't really understand the whole respect each other off the court thing."

A tournament in Egypt two years after their initial meeting is where their friendship began. Kleinhans and Van der Merwe were roommates on the trip, which made the two realize how alike they were and that they needed to "stop the nonsense."

Given the small network of tennis players in South Africa, Kleinhans and Van der Merwe would travel the three hours between their hometowns to train together since there were few options elsewhere. Throughout their careers Kleinhans and Van der Merwe continued to alternate between the number one and number two spot in their age group, however, they each have resumes filled with individual accolades. 

Kleinhans has won seven International Tennis Federation (ITF) titles, with her highest ranking at 158. She also won the South African National Championship four times: U14, U16 and U18, twice. 

Van der Merwe has won several national titles herself and consistently ranked in the top five players in South Africa, while her ITF ranking before college was 182. 

In juniors, they both played for the national team, providing them the ability to travel the world and opportunities to represent their home country on multiple occasions. The pair most recently represented South Africa as the youngest members of the national team for the Fed Cup in Lithuania.

"I would definitely say Europe [was my favorite place], Czech Republic was an amazing tour," Van der Merwe said. 

As their time in juniors came to a close, their college prospects grew. 

"One of my former assistant coaches put them on the radar for me. We recruited them a couple of years ago, but it was a tough recruiting process because they are well-credentialed in the juniors," head women's tennis coach Jaco Keyser said. "It didn't really work out with Lara at first but it did work out with Delien. It seems like it came full circle and we finally got both of them over here."

With Van der Merwe a year older, she went on to spend her freshman year at Virginia Commonwealth University. During that time, Kleinhans received offers from multiples schools, however, South Alabama was not one of them. 

"South was actually not one of my options. I was torn between two other universities," Kleinhans said. "On the day when the other universities wanted me to make my decision, my mom came to me and said 'Just talk to South as well'. I was frustrated because I couldn't decide between two and now I was given a third option."

Kleinhans agreed to talk to Keyser later that day. At the conclusion of the call, she decided to ask the other universities to wait another week on her decision. During that week she spoke to Keyser every day, which ultimately persuaded her to choose South. 

Meanwhile, Van der Merwe debated other options for her academic and athletic career. Throughout the process one of the men's tennis assistant coaches at VCU, who had previously worked with Keyser, suggested she consider South Alabama. 

"Before I actually signed with VCU, I spoke to Jaco [Keyser] so South Alabama was originally one of my options," Van der Merwe said. "With Jaco [Keyser] being South African and then Delien [Kleinhans] also signing here made me want to come. It is so nice that he [Keyser] is helping South Africans get good opportunities."

Naturally the two moved into Stokes Hall together this past fall. After sharing rooms throughout their travels, a dorm room was no different. 

"I love living together. I think it is making it so much easier to settle in and adapt to everything," Kleinhans said. "It's just really nice to have someone from your home country and a good friend that I can talk to when I'm feeling homesick or feeling down. She's a good living partner."

Of the things they miss most about home, family and friends are at the top of the list. 

"The homesickness and not having family here every day is what is hard. Then your siblings, not seeing them grow up. I think family for me is the most difficult part to move on," Van der Merwe said. "Obviously the environment, culture and people are different so that's a big adjustment, but I'm enjoying it so far."

Another aspect of being away from family is also being away from their coaches. Van der Merwe's mother, a professional tennis player herself, has coached her from the beginning. Kleinhan's father, a tennis coach by trade, is who first introduced her to the sport and has nurtured her career. Despite the adjustment between what they know and what is new, the duo admits there is an extra layer of comfort in the fact that Keyser is also from their home country. 

"It definitely does help [that Keyser is South African] because it's a feeling of security just knowing that he is from our home country and knowing what our background is like," Kleinhans said. "But on the court, we don't think about him as South African or not we just see him as the coach."

In an effort to help two of his newcomers settle in, Keyser also connected them to a group of South African student-athletes on the track team. 

"We have a long tradition of South African players on the tennis team, not so much recently but on the track team Coach [Paul] Brueske has kind of created a pipeline there with South African athletes," Keyser said.  "It is nice to have them over here because just like with everything else it's nice to have someone from your home country. Even though it is a new experience and I don't think you should be congregating or just spending time with people from your home country, I think it is nice for the girls to be able to ease in."

The group gets together as often as their schedules allow. Between practices, classes and competitions they make time to bring to life traditions from home. 

"We get together often. In South Africa, it's a big thing to barbeque all the time so we get together a lot on the weekend to do that," Van der Merwe said. "Obviously during the week with training and academics its difficult, but we try to get together a lot and bring back things from home."

With the spring season approaching, both Kleinhans and Van der Merwe hope to find their place on the team and even more so, the starting lineup. Over the course of fall tournaments, Van der Merwe earned five wins in both singles and doubles. Kleinhans had a win in each category as well. 

"I am very excited to have them join our program," Keyser said. "Not just because they are from South Africa — it is nice to have someone from the country you grew up in — but they fit perfectly with what we are trying to achieve from a work ethic standpoint, from being coachable and from trying to raise the level of the program. Plus, they are just a pleasure to be around!"

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Baseline Club, the tennis-specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Baseline Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's and women's tennis programs. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/baselineclub

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