Transfer players enjoy new life in Bloomington

The No. 48 ranked Hoosier women’s tennis team returns with eight players from last season but also has two players who came to IU through the transfer process.

Jithmie Jayawickrema, a senior who previously played at Stephen F. Austin State, and Gabrielle Rubenstein, a junior from Butler, are in their first year in Bloomington and said they love being Hoosiers.

“I finished my sophomore year in Texas, and I decided that I needed a change,” Jayawickrema said. “I really liked the coaches here, so I decided to take a visit to see how Indiana University was, and I really liked it.”

Rubenstein said she briefly considered Ball State, since it’s in-state and she’s very close with her family. However, knowing that Indiana’s coaching staff had a lot of experience developing a successful program made coming to IU an easy choice, she said.

“When I was at Butler, I didn’t know what I wanted to do academically,” Rubenstein said.  “After I signed, I tore my ACL in my senior year of high school, and I started to be really interested in the human body and how it works. I became interested in exercise sciences, but they didn’t have a program.

“Plus, [IU] has a history of excellence in their tennis program, and I thought that coming here would allow the coaches to help me to reach my full tennis potential.”

Jayawickrema, who also considered Purdue, Virginia, NC State and Central Florida, said she chose Indiana because the coaching staff made her feel welcome, and she felt at home at IU.

Jayawickrema and Rubenstein said they think they made the right decision to come to IU to join the Hoosiers women’s tennis team because of the team’s acceptance of them and the structure of practices.

“The girls are really friendly, they work hard and I think that they connected well with us even though we are new,” Jayawickrema said. “They made us feel really welcome and were very helpful adjusting to a new school.”

Rubenstein agreed, saying she enjoys the way practices are laid out.

“I like how our practices are structured, and our coaches do a really good job with our practice sessions,” she said. “It’s very professional, and there’s always something new to do.”

They both said they have fallen in love with their new home at IU including the campus.

“The campus isn’t only made up of buildings, and I like hanging out at the union,” Jayawickrema said.

Rubenstein said she loves where she’s located on campus as well and enjoys the campus’ scenery.

“I really like living in Briscoe (Quad) even though I’m a junior because it’s such a nice dorm,” Rubenstein said. “The campus is very pretty, especially in the fall when the leaves are coming down. If I had more time to sit back and relax, I would probably do
it outside.”

Jayawickrema and Rubenstein said they are hoping to help the women’s tennis team accomplish their goals for the season, which include winning the Big Ten, making it to the NCAA Tournament and ranking in the top 30.