Before senior Josie Frazier was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, ITA Scholar-Athlete and collected a 26-19 overall singles record, she was just a kid from Scottsdale, Ariz. Illinois Athletics sat down with Frazier to discuss life in Scottsdale before she headed to Champaign.
Q: What was it like growing up in Scottsdale?
Josie Frazier: Growing up in Scottsdale was amazing. I was able to be outside for most of my childhood, expect for some of those hot summers and most of my family on my mom and dad’s sides live there too! I think that Scottsdale was an awesome place to grow up.
Q: What is your favorite part of Arizona?
JF: My favorite part about Arizona is our winters. It is sunny every day and around 70 degrees outside. I am even able to swim in my pool most days.
Q: Is there a special place that’s only in Arizona that you miss when you’re in Illinois?
JF: I miss the mountains a lot when I am in Illinois. When I go back home, I always try to hike with my family and friends. We have one mountain in Scottsdale called Camelback Mountain that is very popular and it is a hike that I have done many times.
Q: Any specific Arizona memories from your childhood?
JF: A lot of my memories from Arizona revolve around being in the pool! Some of my favorite memories would be swimming with my two younger sisters, Julia and Alexandra. We would spend hours swimming in our pool after tennis practice in the summer and it was always so much fun.
Q: If you could take any characteristic of Arizona with you to Illinois, what would it be?
JF: The sunshine! I never realized how much I loved sunny days until I moved to Illinois. This is something that I definitely took for granted before coming to college.
Q: Did growing up in Scottsdale have an impact on your tennis career?
JF: I would say it did. Tennis is very popular in Scottsdale and it is almost always sunny and very rarely rains, so I always grew up playing outside. We do not even have indoor courts in Scottsdale, so I had never played indoor tennis before coming to Illinois.
Q: Why did you choose to come to a very opposite climate to Arizona for college?
JF: As much as I love Arizona, I always knew that I wanted to go to college out of the state. I knew I wanted a college-town feel and I wanted to experience all four seasons. So, after coming on my visit to Illinois and…
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