2004_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 2004

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Hye Sharzhoom
October 2004
Freshman Tennis Player Tadevosian and Sophomore Sahakian
Make Mark on Fresno State Tennis Teams	
Sarah Soghomonian
Staff Writer
Samuel Tadevosian, a freshman
on the Fresno State men's tennis
team is looking forward to an exciting first season of collegiate play.
At only 17, Tadevosian, who
graduated a year early from high
school, may seem too young, but
when it comes to tennis he has
plenty of experience.
Born in Hollywood, California
and raised in Glendale, Tadevosian
began playing tennis at age 6. His
first partner was his grandfather,
the man responsible for his involvement with the sport. "I started
playing tennis because my Grandpa
loved the sport," Tadevosian said.
At age 7,Tadevosian began taking tennis lessons. He participated
in USTA Southern California Tournaments and was ranked #8 in the
Boys Under-18 Division.
Tadevosian played on his high
school tennis team at Hoover High
School in Glandale, his freshman
year. That year, their boy' s tennis
team won the division championship. This was a great memory for
Tadevosian because, "It's so competitive in Southern California and
I grew up with those kids (his teammates]", he said.
Roger Federer is one of
Tadevosian's favorite players because he is, "Amazing, smooth and
calm on the court," he stated. He
also looks towards Sarkis Sarkisian
for inspiration because he is a professional tennis player who is also
Armenian.
Tadevosian has aspirations of
becoming a professional play er af-
ter college. If not, he looks to have
a career in the business field. Currently undeclared, Tadevosian is
thinking of majoring in Business
Management.
Tadevosian has had a good experience at Fresno State thus far. "I
like the people, the environment,
Alyssa Sahakian and Sam Tadevosian.
and it's much calmer here than in
Los Angeles," he says.
The Bulldog men's tennis team
is bonding and looking forward to
their season, which begins in the
spring. The only problem is, they
currently do not have a coach. They
were left without one at the beginning ofthe school year.
Fresno has a very strong Armenian community and Tadevosian is
impressed by it. "I love it, it is so
different than Glendale. Armenians have been here so long, everyone is so successful, it makes
me proud," he said. Tadevosian
also finds Fresno' s Armenian community to be very welcoming and
kind.
Tadevosian is currently enrolled
in an Armenian Studies course,
Armenian Studies 20-Arts of Armenia. "I'm learning so many
things about Armenian culture I
didn'tknow," he stated. Tadevosian
enjoys his professor Barlow Der
Mugrdechian, who he says has
played a large role in his adjustment to college and life in a new
city. For that he is quite grateful.
ASO Picnic at Woodward Park
Alex Bunch
Staff Writer
The ASO executive decided to
have a "getting acquainted" party,
by holding an awesome picnic at
Woodward Park, on a beautiful
Sunday afternoon. The turnout was
great and so was the food. What is
great about an Armenian picnic is
that there are no sandwiches. Instead, we had salad, rice pilaf, and
plenty of barbequed meat. No one
could leave the table hungry. The
meat was barbequed perfectly,
which everyone enjoyed.
The weather was just right for a
picnic. Besides having plenty of
food, there were also plenty of
games to choose from. Volleyball
was very popular as well as chess
and cards. My personal favorite
was badminton. Everybody had a
chanceto relax,lounge around,and
talk about what was going on in
their lives.
It was fun seeing Armenians
spending time bonding with each
other. I feel that it is very important
we keep our Armenian heritage
More than 30 members of the Armenian Students Organization gathered on Sunday, October 3 at Woodward Park in
Fresno. After a enjoying a delicious lunch, members played
volleyball, tavloo, football,and chess. Members commented
on how much fun they had at the picnic.
Sarah Soghomonian
Staff Writer
If you ask almost any collegiate
tennis player how many years of
private lessons they have taken,
they' re likely to say many, but that
is not the case for 19-year old Alyssa
Sahakian. Sahakian, a sophomore
Kinesiology major, is a member of
the Fresno State women's tennis
team, but unlike most players she
has never taken private lessons or
even played on an organized team.
"I'm self-taught. I've never had a
private lesson in my life," Sahakian
proudly stated.
Sahakian, a Fresno native,
graduated from Bullard High
School in 2003. She has always had
a love for the game of tennis. She
began playing tennis at age 5 because she enjoyed the sport and
loved watching it on television. Her
favorite player is fellow Armenian
Andre Agassi, "I love watching
him play," she proudly said.
Sahakian is proud to be a member ofthe Bulldog women's tennis
team, especially because she did
not even try out; she was asked to
join. "I was out on the courts playing with one of my friends and the
women's tennis coach had been
watching me play for weeks prior
to that. So, one day, he walked up to
me and said that he had been watching meplay and asked me if I would
like to walk-on the team. And the
rest is history," Sahakian said.
Last season the Fresno State
women' s tenn is team won the WAC
for the third year in a row. Sahakian
was excited to be a part of that team
and proud of their accomplishment.
The Bulldog Women' s Team looks
to win their 4th consecutive title
this spring and Sahakian cannot
wait to get out on the court. "I want
to get better, become more skilled,
more athletically inclined and just
better at the game," she said.
Sahakian works equally hard in
the classroom and plans on becoming a dentist. She chose to attend
Fresno State because she likes its
strong foundation in sports and that
it is close to home.
Sahakian also likes that Fresno
State offers Armenian Studies
courses. She plans on taking an
Armenian language course next
semester, where she hopes to better
her Armenian speaking skills and
learn more about her Armenian
heritage.
Sahakian loves how Fresno's
Armenian Community is so strong.
"It is very rich in culture.
Everyone's together, like one big
family," she says.
alive, and by participating in such
gatherings, that is exactly what we
do. This is what the ASO does, it
brings Armenians together, to have
fun and relax.
For those of you who were un
able to attend, the ASO has plenty
more fun to come. ASO is planning
an October Halloween Party as well
as a Thanksgiving bowling night,
and canned food drive, so check
you email for dates and times.
Armenian Studies Program
2004-2005 Scholarship Applications
Now Available On-Line
http ://studentaffairs .csufresno .edu/scholarships/
The scholarship application for California
State University, Fresno is only available on line.
We do not distribute paper applications and will
only accept the online scholarship application, also
known as e-Scholar, for consideration of all institutional scholarship awards.
Deadline for applications:
November 30,2004
For applications to be considered you must also
complete the special Armenian Studies supplemental form which can be found at:
http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/
scholarships .htm
For more information contact the
Armenian Studies Program at 278-2669.