Fifty thousand miles. Or, to be exact, 49,948 miles. That’s the total distance from Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss., to the home countries of the eight players on its women’s tennis team.

The players each hail from different countries spread across three continents — South Africa, Slovenia, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and Australia.

In the midst of having to up their game on the tennis court, the players have also had to adapt to new surroundings and a new culture.

It’s not uncommon for a player to exclaim in their native tongue in a particularly intense moment.

“It was different,” junior Bianca Birkenstock said of her transition to the United States. “It’s a completely different culture, and the coaches are completely different, but overall it’s been a positive experience, especially in Mississippi. I’ve had a lot of support from my coach, and from the players, because we’re all international so we all kind of understand each other.”

Birkenstock is from Durban, South Africa, and played at Texas State before transferring to Alcorn. This season, she is 5-5 and has stepped up big for the Lady Braves in conference play, going 4-2.

She often plays doubles matches with Russian Anastasia Vaganova, the 2017 Southwestern Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year.

Vaganova originally hails from Nizhny Novgorod in western Russia. She had been training in Dubai for three years before receiving her scholarship from Alcorn.

“I had never been in the U.S. when I moved here,” Vaganova said. “I didn’t want to study in Russia, and I wanted to continue my tennis career, so that’s why I moved here.”

Playing tennis at the college level was a shift for Vaganova as well. She said one of the major differences was the need for players to support each other.

“I’m getting used to it, but college tennis is completely different,” Vaganova said. “I was playing only my personal tournaments, and here the team is pretty good. We are all like sisters, and as a team we are all getting better day by day.”

The bond the team has built has been important. Even though they all come from different countries, they are sharing the experience of being new to America. That helps them off the court as much as on it.

“We all kind of understand each other and when someone has a down day when they’re homesick, we know where we come from,” Birkenstock said. “Immediately you have a bond, and kind of form like a sisterhood with your teammates.”

Alcorn State coach Anthony Dodgen said the trend of collegiate tennis has been toward recruiting international players, as American interest in the sport is not as high as it’s been in the past. Thirty-six of the 58 women’s tennis players listed on SWAC rosters this season were from countries other than the United States. Those 36 players represented 28 different countries, and every continent except Antarctica.

Alcorn and Alabama State are the only teams in the SWAC that do not have at least one American on the roster. Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff have the fewest foreign players, with two each.

Texas Southern does not have a women’s tennis team, and Jackson State’s roster was not available.

“In order to have a competitive tennis team, you have to go overseas,” Dodgen said.

Dodgen said this change hasn’t been difficult for him in the coaching or recruiting aspects. He studies film of players online, and has to recruit his prospective players strictly over the Internet instead of face-to-face meetings. He would, however, relish the opportunity to travel overseas to scout and recruit.

“It’s not a challenge for me, because I do most of my recruiting online,” Dodgen said. “You can get pretty good information online. If you watch what you’re doing, and you communicate with the prospective players, you can get a pretty good read on what you’re going to get.”

For Birkenstock, her decision to come to Alcorn State has been rewarding so far.

The Lady Braves have battled through a tough start to the year, rebounding to a 4-4 record in the SWAC, and 5-12 overall. They will enter the 2018 SWAC tennis championships on April 13 as the No. 5 seed and take on third-seeded Southern University.

“When we have wins as teams like we had against Alabama A&M, its just an experience and feeling you cant explain,” Birkenstock said. “It’s an amazing feeling, and I think that has been the most positive.”