The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 17 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Student-Athlete Of The Month Women's Tennis Senior Giulia Pairone Women's tennis senior Gi- ulia Pairone took an extremely unique path to the University of Michigan. The senior lived her entire life in Italy up until she had the opportunity to attend college in the United States, and chose to take it even though she was already playing professional tennis in Europe. "I just really loved studying and wanted to go to university because of it," Pairone recalled. "I figured coming here [to the United States] was a great op- portunity to not only keep playing tennis, but also to study. In Italy, you either have to study or play tennis — you can't do both. "I actually went to the Uni- versity of Arkansas as a fresh- man and sophomore, but then transferred to Michigan last year. I just wanted to go to a better academic school, and thought [U-M head coach] Ronni [Bernstein] was very nice and a great coach after seeing her at tournaments. I took my visit to Michigan in December and really liked it, even though it was so cold. I didn't let the cold stop me, though." Pairone got her Wolverine career started with a bang last season as a junior, finishing the year with a 25-11 singles record and a No. 85 ranking by the Inter- collegiate Tennis Association, before concluding with All-Big Ten honors. The Turin, Italy, native admitted there is plenty she'd like to improve on head- ing into her final season, however, which began Sept. 20 with the Wolverine Invitational. "I need to be more consistent, because sometimes I rush too much and try to hit a winner too early in the point," she explained. "I was making a lot of unforced errors last season, so I want to improve on that and on my returns — I gave away a lot of free points off of turnovers last year. "I also want to become a better doubles player." Pairone not only handled the athletic transition from Arkansas to Michigan smoothly on the court last season, but in the classroom as well. "Studying psychology has been absolutely great here," she exclaimed. "I love ev- ery class I take, and am very happy with the choice I made to come here. The aca- demics have been very challenging, but they have also made me grow and learn as a person, and have given me experiences I wouldn't have had at Arkansas." With graduation now less than a year away for the U-M senior class, Pairone revealed that she'd like to stay in the U.S. after receiving her diploma, though she's not 100 percent sure which profession she'd like to pursue yet. "I've always thought I wanted to turn pro, but I don't know if that will be the case anymore," she revealed. "I did an internship with the Leadership Develop- ment Team here in the athletics department this past summer and really liked it. "I want to do a job that will allow me to help others and improve their lives, perhaps in mental health or in clinical psychology. Getting a master's degree in clinical psychology is actually something I'm considering, along with perhaps a job involving personal development." — Austin Fox Pairone transferred from Arkansas and debuted at Michigan by earning All-Big Ten honors last year. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Wolverine Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.