PSU Tennis Player Andrea Brignacca was thrown into American culture at the age of 16. He was alone. He didn't speak English. And, he found American teenagers an isolated bunch much different from his friends in his native Turin, Italy.  It was tough, he recalled…even though he spent his senior year at Heritage High School, an exclusive boarding school on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
     
"My parents always wanted me to become independent from a young age. They thought the best way to do that was to ship me to an English-speaking country and let me figure it out," the fifth-year senior said near the end of his first year in the Viking Men's Tennis program.  Even though he was only 16, "I was intrigued by going into a completely new place and starting from 0."
     
His parents felt that "Italy is very old fashioned in a lot of ways. My parents thought if I stayed there, I would not have the possibility of growth" and the US was a land of opportunities. "So, they sacrificed to spend a lot of money to take my last year of high school in the USA and try to create a future for myself."
       
He's grateful for the opportunity and feels he has taken full advantage of it…after that difficult first year.

Besides not speaking any English, Brignacca found himself in a place "miles away from my family and friends (not to mention in a small community following life in Turin, a cultural and commercial city of 1.8 million set against the Graian Alps 6o miles southeast of Milan).  Many things that were normal for me were not every day anymore," he said. He spent that first year being very homesick.

"I grew up in Italy, helping my friends with anything they needed, and I loved to hang out with them for hours. When I moved to the US, I noticed that no one would help me unless it were an emergency. Also, no one would hang out or do things outside the set hours unless on special occasions," he said. "My impression hasn't changed after five years here. Things are a bit different in Portland, but it mainly depends on the person you have in front of you. I find it sad because I think every person has something to share that can make a difference in someone's life. But it is what it is."
    
Still, once he got used to the language and understood American culture, "I got comfortable and have enjoyed it. I was in a perfect area on Hilton Head, and I was lucky that most of my housemates were international. It helped me understand the differences between many cultures and how different the environments people grow up in."

And, Hilton Head, with its tennis culture, was the perfect place for this son of a professional tennis coach who was interested in using his tennis talent to get a university education.
     
Brignacca grew up playing tennis and hockey. He was good at both. In fact, he played goalie for the U13 and U14 Italian national hockey team. But, he liked tennis better and had his dad Alberto, who played basketball as well as tennis, to talk tennis with. As a goalie, he was always waiting for someone else to make a play. In tennis, the game was always under his control.

Plus, "when I started to play with kids who had power in their shots, I took a few one-timers in my stomach. It was hard, man. I began to become more afraid of the puck. I chose a safer tennis," he said.

Out of high school, Brignacca was offered a full scholarship to Rollins College, a small private school just outside Orlando, Fla.
      
And, that greatly widened his understanding of and appreciation for American culture.
      
"I didn't understand the difference of each state until I moved to Florida and I think that diversity is what I like most about America," he said.
     
Brignacca's tennis career blossomed at Rollins, a division II school with a strong tennis program. In fact, he believes some of the stronger programs from their conference could be ranked in Division I tennis. There, he compiled a 28-18 career singles record and led the school with an 8-1 singles record in 2020. He was ranked as high as ninth in the nation in NCAA Division II doubles in 2019. Academically, he was named to the President's list in 2019 and 2021.

But, after four years and a degree in International Business and Spanish (graduating Laude), it was time for a change.
 
"Rollins was great. I met great people and am still in touch with most of them." But, it was time for a new place, new experiences and more growth.
        
Although he drew interest from such schools as Monmouth and Lipscomb, he applied to PSU's nationally recognized MBA program and contacted PSU Men's Tennis coach Vetu Mam. His timing was perfect. Vetu was in the process of a top-to-bottom restructuring of his program.
    
"I was recruiting hard. Talent is always great, but more importantly, I focused on recruiting guys with good character and who would appreciate Portland and the downtown scene (that process produced a team with players from Switzerland, Serbia, Canada, the Czech Republic and Italy)", said Mam.
     
Brignacca was "graduating from Rollins and still had two years of eligibility left. GPA was outstanding, tennis game was there. There were just a lot of boxes that checked out for me. He applied and got into our MBA program, which some past players, who did well academically, didn't get into."
     
Playing the number one singles spot, Brignacca has had success in his first year at Division 1. 
    
"This team was very successful a few years back. I am thankful to Vetu for allowing me to come here and try to bring the program back to their standards, "he said. "I saw the program had many connections to sports (business), which is what I wanted from my MBA (think Nike and Adidas)."
      
And, Brignacca has taken to the Pacific Northwest, which he said is "way closer to my Italian culture than Florida used to be. First the city of Portland is very similar to Turin, so I feel less homesick. Everything is very green, giving me more of a European vibe, and I like the sustainable side of the city. Additionally, people are way more relaxed here than on the East Coast, which I love. I am used to Italy, where people do not do anything fast. Here, if you are a couple minutes late, no one says anything. In Florida, they would not let you join the class."
    
When he first arrived in the US, he missed the food "not a specific plate, but just the quality of the ingredients. Everything (in Italy) is so good, and I miss just being able to eat anything I want without having to worry about how many chemicals there are."  In Portland, "people care a lot about food and its quality, which is nice."
    
Brignacca is looking forward to next season with this team.
     
"You could not get a more diverse team. Because of this and because everyone is on the same level, we understand each other well, which is fun," he said.
    
And as the team's most experienced player, Mam has high hopes for him and for his team next year.
    
"This year is all about getting to know their games and styles and getting to know them as people on and off the court, so there were no expectations. Next year is a different story."