Kevin Bollmann, a sophomore recruit from Switzerland, took action as the No. 1 singles player for the men’s tennis team this fall.

Bollmann grew up in Reinach, Switzerland – a municipality within Basel-Country that is home to just under 20,000 people. He graduated from Gymnasium Münchenstein High School in 2020 and set his mind towards playing collegiate tennis nearly 5,000 miles away from home.

This is Bollmann’s second year playing collegiate tennis in the United States, but only his first playing for Goshen College. His freshman year, he attended Lawrence Technical University (LTU) in Southfield, Michigan.

“In my home country, we don’t have college tennis,” Bollmann said. “Athletics and academics are taken seriously in their respective places.”

Bollmann knew he wanted to play tennis in college. This aided his decision to come to the United States, where becoming a part of a collegiate team is extremely common and even encouraged, to continue his education.

Bollmann grew up playing tennis, but didn’t become serious about his sport until around age 13. This is a crucial time for all tennis players, as specific technical changes, such as the swing pattern on a forehand, can’t be made as easily as the player reaches their late teens.

Bollmann’s effort didn’t end up being for nothing, as he played anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles for LTU as a freshman.

This year, Bollmann transferred to Goshen College to continue his athletic career and advance his academic studies as a business major.

“LTU didn’t have the degree that I decided I wanted, but other than that, there are few differences between Goshen and LTU,” Bollmann said. “The schools are both small in size and the people are nice.”

In addition to his No. 1 singles position, Bollmann also transitioned between all three doubles positions for the tennis team this past season =.

Bollmann’s individual singles record was 6-12. His doubles record was 6-11. Both records include results from the ITA Regional Tournament that took place at the end of the fall season. 

Outside of his individual matches, this is only Bollmann’s second year being a part of a collegiate sports team. 

“In Switzerland, we play tennis completely for ourselves,” Bollmann said. “It isn’t looked at as a team sport.” 

Despite this, Bollmann proves to be a team player, constantly uplifting his teammates on and off the court.

“While I still want to focus on my game, it’s nice to be surrounded by people who want to support each other no matter what,” Bollmann said.