Nevenhoven ready for challenge of Pac-12 tennis at Arizona
ROCKFORD, Ill. (BVM) — Belen Nevenhoven may soon be heading west to play college tennis. But she leaves Illinois as one of the best tennis players to compete in the state over the last few years, and arguably the best player to ever come out of the Rockford, Ill. area.
Nevenhoven鈥檚 incredible success on the tennis court should come as no surprise to those who know her family background in the sport. Although she played several other sports growing up, tennis was always her destiny.
鈥淭ennis was kind of a family thing,鈥� Nevenhoven said. 鈥淚 was always on the court and just always surrounded by tennis.鈥�
Nevenhoven鈥檚 grandfather was at the head of the family鈥檚 success. Immigrating from the Philippines, he taught each of his five daughters how to play tennis, hoping they could go on to play in college.聽
鈥淗e got them into tennis and basically just taught himself everything he could about tennis,鈥� Nevenhoven said. 鈥淗e ended up teaching my mom and her four sisters. All of them ended up going to DI colleges.鈥�
The game and talent has since been passed down to the next generation. Not only has Nevenhoven become an elite talent thanks to the tutelage of both her grandfather and her mom, Cindy, but her brother, Quinten, also currently plays in college at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
鈥淢y mom became a tennis coach and she would always teach us,鈥� Belen said. 鈥淲henever my grandpa was with us he would always teach us. I鈥檝e learned a bunch from them and I鈥檇 say one of my biggest inspirations is my grandpa. I鈥檝e learned a lot of determination and just not to give up on anything.鈥�
Playing since she was 4 years old, Belen will soon follow in her brother鈥檚 footsteps and achieve one of her lifelong dreams by playing college tennis. However, the process to get there was not always easy.
As a four-star player and top-100 recruit throughout her high school career by tennisrecruiting.com, it seemed as Belen would have no problem finding a home to play tennis at the next level. However, thanks to limited recruiting caused by the pandemic, it was a struggle for the 18-year-old.
鈥淭he recruiting process was already really hard to start,鈥� Belen mentioned. 鈥淚 already knew going into it, it would be pretty difficult but I was pretty confident I would be able to find a spot. Before Covid, I was on the exact track that I wanted, but when it hit, it got a lot tougher. I couldn鈥檛 play and couldn鈥檛 get my rankings up. On the small chance that I could play, coaches couldn鈥檛 even come and watch you.
鈥淚 basically lost all contacts that I was talking to as Covid went from a two-week thing to a five-month thing. It was hard to keep in touch with them and for them to take a chance on me. I think I got told no from 15 colleges or that they didn鈥檛 have spots anymore.鈥�
By this past March, Belen was still not committed, creating unease. She could have opted to go to a smaller school, or perhaps join her brother at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. However, playing at a Division I, Power 5 school was always Belen鈥檚 mindset.
鈥淚 did have a bunch of smaller schools contacting me and I did have full ride scholarship offers from smaller schools,鈥� Belen said. 鈥淓ver since I was little and knew I wanted to play college tennis, I was very set on going to a big school in a Power 5 conference. Even though that probably made my recruiting process much harder, I knew I wouldn鈥檛 be happy if I settled for a smaller school.鈥�
Finally, Belen鈥檚 opportunity came, as she was offered a preferred walk-on opportunity at the University of Arizona. A Power 5 school and also a warm-weather campus created a perfect match for the tennis star.
鈥淎gain, I wanted to go to a big school and have that challenge, even if it meant I didn鈥檛 play the first two years,鈥� Belen added. 鈥淚t just so happened that Arizona was willing to take me and they just checked all of my boxes. Arizona was in my top-five from the start.鈥�
While the chance to become a DI athlete fulfills a lifelong goal for Belen, it is seen as commonplace with all the success in her family.
鈥淚t never really clicked,鈥� Belen said. 鈥淢y brother is a DI athlete, my cousin is DIII, all my aunts were playing it. So to me, it鈥檚 just normal.鈥�
However, the tennis star will be part of an extremely talented class coming into Arizona, rated as one of the top in the nation and one of the best the Wildcats鈥� women鈥檚 tennis program has ever had.
鈥淚鈥檓 super excited to be part of this recruiting class,鈥� Belen added. 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to meet the girls and it鈥檚 hard to wrap my head around that I鈥檓 a part of this group that鈥檚 coming in. It makes me excited thinking about what鈥檚 going to happen in the future because we could be a really big team. I鈥檓 really looking forward to just pushing myself and getting better.鈥�
Getting better is something Belen did throughout her career at Auburn High School, which has been one of the most impressive ever in the Rockford area. She was a No. 1 singles player right off the bat, and it was her first team experience that she enjoyed most as a freshman.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to do it for yourself, but doing it for your team and seeing how excited they are, too, just makes it so much better,鈥� Belen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a better feeling seeing how happy other people are on your team so it really motivated me to keep going.鈥�
That feeling and additional success carried over into the remainder of Belen鈥檚 high school tennis career. As a sophomore, she had an impressive fourth-place finish at state in Class 2A. As a junior, she would finish runner-up at state, motivating her to go even further.
鈥淢y sophomore year, state was still good but I ended up losing my semifinals match which wasn鈥檛 the best thing,鈥� Belen said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 the outcome I wanted, but I had to remind myself that fourth at state as a sophomore wasn鈥檛 that bad at all. I had set such high standards for myself that it was kind of disappointing, but if anything, that just made me more motivated for my junior year.
鈥淢y junior year, I had a mindset that there was no other option than getting to the state finals. That state tournament junior year was probably some of the best tennis I鈥檝e played to this day. I got a little in my head and played my friend Kylie, and she just outplayed me in the finals. I wasn鈥檛 nearly as upset as I was sophomore year, but it was still a little bit heartbreaking. After each year, my motivation got so much higher.鈥�
The goal for Belen was to come back in her senior season to win a long-awaited state title. However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed those plans. The Auburn girls tennis team would have a season last fall, but was relegated to local matches. Heartbreakingly for the Knights鈥� team captain, the IHSA did not hold a state tournament either.
鈥淚鈥檓 still sad about it,鈥� Belen noted. 鈥淚t was heartbreaking to hear that there wouldn鈥檛 be state. But there鈥檚 nothing I can do about it and I just had to get over it. I still had a good finish to my junior year and am very proud and content with how my high school career ended.鈥�
Belen concludes her high school career as just the second two-time girls state medalist to come out of the Rockford area, and joins one of her aunts as the only other competitor to compete in a state title match. Impressively, she never dropped a set within conference play at Auburn.
Ready to head out west to Arizona, Belen leaves behind a legacy that will not be lost in Rockford. Despite what some would see as a bitter ending to her high school career, Belen looks at the positives, and is proud of the impact she could leave on the Auburn program.
鈥淚 am just happy that I had the opportunity to give back to my school, my team and Rockford,鈥� Belen explained. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad I got to leave a legacy for myself. A lot of people don鈥檛 get this chance, and if you do get this chance, you don鈥檛 get it a lot. Overall, I鈥檓 very proud of myself.鈥�
