On June 10 of this year, freshman women’s basketball player Grace Lennox walked on to United States soil for only the third time in her life and for her it was a different experience, because she was starting college.

When Lennox walked onto the campus of Eastern, she said it was pretty crazy. She had to start school right away with four classes, two of which were online.

“Actually, it wasn’t as bad as I expected,” she said. “Everyone was telling me that it was going to be really tough, and I was kind of in the mindset of it was going to be really hard. The coaches gave me extra time to do everything. I mean it was hard, but I got it done and finished with three A’s and a B, so it wasn’t too bad in the end.”

Previously, Lennox said she had been to states such as California, Indiana, Illinois and Texas. She was able to visit Disneyland while in California. She plans to go to again on Christmas Day with her parents who are visiting her later in the month.

Lennox was born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the Australia island state of Tasmania. Tasmania is an island just off the southernmost part of Australia.

While in Australia, Lennox played for the Hobart Chargers in helping lead her team to the 2013 Premier League Championships.

Lennox was also a two-time all-league player and was a member of the Australian Under-17 National team that competed in the FIBA Oceania Games.

She was a captain of the Tasmanian National Team during the Australian State Championships and was named to the under-20 National Team this past summer.

Lennox said playing with the level of competition over in Australia has helped her immensely with adapting to the type of basketball over here.

Three of Lennox’s teammates in Australia have graduated from a college in the United States including one from Duke University.

“The competition I was playing against at home was probably better than it is right now,” she said. “It prepared me crazily for coming over here.”

The biggest reason Lennox came to Eastern was because of the coaching staff. Prior to speaking with coaches, she did not have any idea where Eastern was.

She heard about the opportunity from one of her coaches back in Australia, who played basketball with Eastern coach Debbie Black and assistant coach Kim Foley in Tasmania. She told Lennox that Eastern would be the perfect fit.

“When I talked to them about everything they wanted implemented with the team, it was a perfect fit,” Lennox said. “I just absolutely fell in love with what they were trying to preach and teach.”

Black said that she never went down to Australia to actually see Lennox, but they would communicate via Skype and e-mail.

Black said she likes that even though Lennox might not light up the stat sheet, she brings the intangibles to the table.

“She wins just about every race,” Black said. “She doesn’t stop and that is the kind of player I need in the gym. She sets the table offensively for us. Her on-the-ball defense is really good. I don’t have to teach her how to work. She is going to put the work in. It will be interesting to see her develop throughout the years.”

When Lennox stepped foot on to Eastern’s campus for the first time, she said everything was going so fast. Her teammates were there to help her get comfortable with the situation, including senior forward Sabina Oroszova.

Oroszova was an international student, just like Lennox, and came over from Slovakia her freshman year.

Lennox said Oroszova has been a huge help with getting her settled in.

“She said ‘This is what you should be doing instead of going about it the wrong way, and make sure you get on top of that first,” Lennox said. “She is always there for me if I need her to help. If I have any questions about anything, I always ask Sabi. I go to her first.”

Lennox has been away from home for about six months and said the hardest part is just being away from her family.

She said normally every weekend, while back home, she would go out in her dad’s boat and go snorkeling, diving, water skiing and surfing.

With the 17-hour time difference, talking to her parents is a tough challenge for Lennox, because normally when Lennox gets up in the morning, her parents are sleeping and visa-versa.

She said she normally talks to her mom on most days via text message and talks on the phone about three times a week and Skype or FaceTime every two weeks.

“Generally I will have communication with her everyday,” she said. “My dad and I talk whenever. Sometimes I send him a message, sometimes I won’t. My sisters I communicate with most days as well and my brother every now and then.”

Lennox said her parents have been the biggest influence on her life because of what they have done for her throughout her basketball career.

“They have been their forever,” she said. “I have the best relationship with my parents. They brought me up so well. I look up to them, and I respect them. They’ve just taught me to never give up, to always continue. They have supported me the whole way. I always look up to them.”

Bob Reynolds can be reached at 217-581-2812 or [email protected].