South Dakota senior tennis player Habiba Aly hosts "Drop a Pin", a new segment for GoYotes.com in which Aly interviews international student-athletes at USD to learn more about their background, culture and experiences. The feature debuts Tuesday and her first guest is sophomore basketball player Tasos Kamateros who hails from Athens, Greece.
 
The show is a fun and casual interview conducted via zoom in which Aly inquires among other things, how the student-athlete comes to choose USD, first impressions, obstacles they've overcome and goals they have set. She concludes by asking two things everyone must do when visiting the guest's hometown.
 
"I've been fascinated by international students' experiences since my freshman year and I've always learned we share common questions, situations and misconceptions," said Aly. "Those conversations have been tougher to have this year due to COVID and I thought in addition to being fun that the Coyote community would enjoy our conversations as well."
 
Aly is studying media and journalism while minoring in business and with a specialty in strategic communication. It's not the field of study she brought with her from her hometown on Cairo, Egypt, but it's one she has grown to love.
 
"I used to be more interested in math and physics, but when I came here, I felt I could do something else since I've never been interested in anything else," said Aly. "It was hard in the beginning, but I've gotten better and better and found that it links two things I truly enjoy – talking to people and hearing their stories."


 
Aly comes from an athletic family. Her mom, Hanaa, was a judo player while her older brothers enjoyed swimming, track, water polo and tennis. Aly swam and played tennis before deciding to focus on tennis at age 8. She won her first tournament a year later. Since that time, it's been a sport that has taken her all over the world.
 
"I've never really counted how many places I've been, but certainly I've traveled a lot in our region of Africa," said Aly. "I've played a lot in South Africa and I've played in Algeria, Tunisia and southern places like Zimbabwe and Kenya. I've been to the Middle East, like Qatar, Dubai and Lebanon. I've been to Luxembourg in Europe and Indonesia in Asia. Before coming to USD, I had been to Atlanta and Philadephia in the United States.
 
"Tennis is certainly an international sport. I've made a lot of friends around the world and it's amazing how many I've been able to keep in touch with."
 
Aly's recruiting story is probably similar to several other international tennis stars. A high ranking in the ITF – International Tennis Federation – attracted coaches in the United States who made contact. She received offers from larger schools like Maryland and in Chicago and North Carolina, but wanted to be close to her brother, Ahmed, a doctor who lives in Omaha.
 
"My dad explained that America is really big, and if you are on the East Coast and your brother is in the Midwest, you're not really in the same country," giggled Aly. "He thought I should be close to him.
 
"I wouldn't change anything. Academics are really strong here, the athletic program is good and Brett, our coach, is really understanding. I get to see my brother whenever I get a free weekend, and we had a Thanksgiving trip together. Also, when I was injured, or if I get really sick, he would be here for me and would come anytime. It's the best thing."
 
The idea for "Drop a Pin" emerged from these experiences, and certainly from those of competing on a team cultivated from a variety of backdrops: Argentina (Agustina Diaz), Serbia (Jana Lazarevic), Spain (Yulia Almiron and Berta Girbau), Czech Republic (Natka Kmoskova), London (Indy Ampaw), Latvia (Anna Marija Bukina) and Minnesota (Eesha Varma).
 
"This is my fourth year here and we've come to know a lot about each other," said Aly. "It's crazy how all of us are internationals, but we still share so many similarities. We speak different languages, we have friends everywhere in the world, and somehow we find a way to bond on and off the court. I love it!"