Nov. 20, 2010
While most Vanderbilt students are traveling back to their hometowns this weekend to spend Thanksgiving break with family and friends, 17 students will be going on a much different journey.
The men’s and women’s tennis teams will be departing on Saturday morning for a week long adventure to South Africa. The teams will be spending the week learning about South African culture and visiting historic sights, such as President Mandela’s original four room red brick house and the largest medical facility in the Southern Hemisphere.
During the trip, the teams will travel to Kings Camp, set in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve, located in the five million acre Greater Kruger National Park. While there, a ranger will guide the group into the African bush to see the wildlife through an open land rover.
In addition to all of the sightseeing, the teams will play some tennis while in South Africa. The group will play one match in Johannesburg at the beginning of the trip and then face opponents in Cape Town on the final day of the voyage.
“I’m extremely pleased and proud that our teams are going to South Africa, a country I dearly love,” said Vice Chancellor for University Affairs and Athletics, David Williams, II. “I say that with mixed emotions – I am very jealous, my only regret is that I am not going them.”
Check back with vucommodores.com throughout the week for updates from the trip. Different members of the team will share their experiences from the Apartheid Museum, King Camp, Robben Island Prison and of course, a couple of tennis matches.
