Pilot in the Spotlight: Steffen Dierauf

By The Beacon | April 8, 2015 3:14pm
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Pilot in the Spotlight: Steffen Dierauf

By Molly McSweyn |

 

Grad student (masters)

Munich, Germany

 

How did you end up at UP?

For my undergrad, already I got some offers to go to the U.S. but I rejected them because four years was too long for me at that point. And then (coach) Aaron (Gross)  just texted me if I was interested in college tennis, and I was like, “Well I am graduating from my undergrad already, but I mean if you want a masters student I am down for that.” So then he figured it out with the school and with the athletic office to see if I was eligible, and he came back and said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.”

 

How did you get started playing tennis?

 

I think I was probably around six or something like that, and my dad and my mom played for fun. So I was with them on the court - just running around there - and started having my first lessons with my sister and kept on going.

 

Did you ever play any other sports growing up?

Soccer, handball and - fun fact for me - is that I did gymnastics and I was a regional champion in gymnastics.

 

What exactly handball?

Uh, how should I explain it, well it is seven-against-seven, I would say kind of like soccer with a goalie and six for the field. And the goal is probably double the size of a lacrosse goal, and you have a circle and the field players are not allowed to step in the circle with the ball in their hands. Every American I tell is like, ‘What is that sport? Handball, I have never heard of it.” It is big in Europe though.

 

As you grew up did you ever have a tennis role model?

Well, Pete Sampras, of course, and nowadays Federer.

 

What is your favorite part about being in America?

My favorite part...that is a hard question, I would say just getting to know a different culture and also be able to just get better in the language. Because that is like a big thing for me when I get back and apply for jobs, that I can say I am kind of fluent in English. And also just the possibility to meet so many new people.

 

What do you miss most about Germany?

The food.

 

How has it been overall to play for UP?

Its fun, its different. Especially with the conference matches there is a lot of emotion and cheering for your team between points. Thats funny, when my parents watch it they say there is so much movement on the court, like coaches walking over the court and people yelling, that is completely different from Germany where there is just silence, maybe someone cheers from time to time.

 

What is your favorite memory of being a Pilot?

So far it is definitely beating Pepperdine two weeks ago because it was just the first time in schools history that we beat them and just seeing how much it meant to our coaches, we saw that it was a big win.

 

What are your plans after you leave UP?

I will go home and probably start applying for jobs in June.

 

Has UP been very different than your school in Germany?

Yes, very different. I was studying at the Technical University in Munich, which is a big University. I think my year started with about 800 students in just like this one specific undergrad program. Not like here where you can be undecided, you apply specific for one plan. At the beginning there were 800 people so we were in one big room with all these people with a professor in front with a microphone with big screens and that’s it. And the other thing is we never had homework, so that was weird when I came here the first class had homework due the next week and I was like “homework?.” You basically go to class and at the end of the semester you take a test.

 

If you had to pick one place to live in the world, where would you pick and why?

Thats a really hard question. The thing is, I would say definitely some beautiful island where it is always nice weather, but I think I would definitely get bored there. So, well, I really love being in Munich, because it just has everything there, so close to the mountains to go on hikes or go skiing in the winters. And the summer you can drive five hours and you are in Italy; everything is so close.

 

Molly McSweyn is a sports reporter for The Beacon. You can reach her at mcsweyn18@up.edu.

 

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