Story written by Ed Paige
“I once heard a New England college tennis player tell the best story,” says Cam Amyot, senior co-captain of Fairfield men’s tennis. “The guy had switched coasts and was attending school near San Francisco. He was at lunch one day early in his sophomore year with his dad. The food had come and gone and the father proclaimed how delicious the meal was and told the server just that. ‘Dad,’ said the transplanted easterner, ‘the difference between California and New York is that even if people here hated the food, they would still compliment the waitress on how good it was.’
Now you must also know that this friend of mine did not necessarily think this behavior was such a good thing. He told me how he so missed people speaking their minds and, in general, a little cynicism.”
Fairfield men’s and women’s tennis has its story of west coasters in residence, too—specifically Southern Californians. Two of the teams’ stalwart players this year are Amyot, from San Diego, and senior women’s co-captain Allison Radde, from Fullerton, California. Yes, Fairfield Beach is nice, but Laguna, Hermosa and La Jolla are nice, too.
These two made the decision in late 2010 to leave the warmth and comfort of their home state to attend Fairfield. Both enjoyed stellar junior tennis careers and have been major four-year contributors. They also starred on MAAC championship teams in 2012.
As for choosing Fairfield Amyot explains, “I knew it had a great business school and that the tennis team had a chance to win. I also wanted to do something different, get out of my comfort zone.”
Radde concurs: “I wanted to witness something new, live in an area that I perceived to be more diverse. For me being near New York City was also a huge factor. I always dreamed about living there.
My choice, too, must have come down to fate. One night I was checking out east coast schools and came to Fairfield’s website. It looked great. The next night I get a call from [former head coach] Ed Paige asking if I would like to make an official visit.”
One of things that stood out for Amyot was his taste in shoes. During his freshman year his choice of footwear when he wasn’t playing tennis was a pair of knock-off Top Siders—blue Vans—with no laces. Out of place, but comfortable, the shoes said so much about Cam. He was California. If you notice, so many folks from the Golden State wear such lace-less footwear. “I don’t know,” says Amyot,” they were just the shoes I had. Everyone at home wore similar things.
“It must have been an omen,” the captain continues. “I distinctly remember my freshman year walking around school and being passed by everybody. I was by far the slowest walker there. I thought to myself, ‘Is everyone trying to get somewhere? It’s so nice outside…enjoy!’ In retrospect, it must have been the shoes.”
“Back home,” says Radde, “everyone acts in kick-back mode. You know, ten people will gather and go to the beach for a bonfire. Here it seems you need to have forty people—a squad, a big group—to have fun.
“Everything in Fairfield is so fast paced,” adds Amyot, “and the people here have no filter. They speak their minds much more than folks in California do. Everybody here, too, is so focused on job titles. All my Fairfield friends know what all the parents do. It’s not like that at all back home in San Diego.”
Senior men’s player George Tioutine of Rockaway, New Jersey, has known the captains closely for four years. He sees Radde “as way more outgoing, lighter, than she was as a freshman. At first she seemed distant, quiet.”
“Yes,” responds Radde, “I was definitely more nervous and scared when I started here.”
And it’s no wonder. When Allison and Cam first came to campus in August of 2011 they were greeted by Hurricane Irene, which delayed the opening of school by a week. Both students moved into a basically deserted campus.
“One of the things that actually helped me,” Radde continues, “was my academics. The business school here has been very hard for me. I’ve learned to budget my time. I’m also very proud that I’m doing well and graduating with a degree in finance and marketing.”
The other women’s co-captain, senior Emma Samson of Weston, Connecticut, says “Allison has become so much more metropolitan since she first came onto campus,” Emma Samson, co-captain of the women’s team said. “She’s now a big-city girl. As for Cam, he now wears shorts in thirty-degree weather.”
According to the other men’s tennis co-captain, junior Ofir Solomon of Plainview, New York, “Cam, despite having a stellar academic career, was never really into the whole job thing,” said Ofir Solomon, men’s tennis co-captain. “He never fretted about what he was going to do. And the thing is, you know how people can sometimes graduate in three years? I swear Cam could have done it in two.”
His academic tenacity paid off. Amyot, an accounting/finance major, will join the prestigious General Electric, two-year, management-consulting training program upon graduation.
As for the pair’s tennis highlights both agree that it was winning the MAAC tournament championship and getting to go home and play the University of Southern California in the NCAA tournament’s first round.
“Seeing and hearing the Trojan pep band before and during our match was pretty cool,” says Amyot.
Adds Radde, “I just liked seeing Fairfield and our names on the big USC scoreboard,” Radde added, who actually faced off against a woman she had played against in high school.
Each co-captain looks forward to making a return visit to the NCAAs this May. They both feel each team has the potential to win MAACs. They also agree that it has been beyond great—“over the moon”—to be part of the Stags’ tennis family.
Not surprisingly, Radde wants to stay near New York after she graduates. She has been interviewing for finance positions with firms in Fairfield County and wants to live in Manhattan soon. Amyot will embark on his four-segment training program in either Erie, Pa., Cincinnati, Atlanta, or Chicago.
And should his job keep him on the East Coast, well he’ll be prepared. Last week, he bought himself a new pair of Vans, but red this time.
