Sofia, Bulgaria native Benjamin Niv is in his first year at Campbell after spending the 2019-20 academic year at Wichita State. He recently discussed his tennis career and revealed a bit of his personality in an interview with Athletic Communications student assistant Ashley Goddard.
Question: What motivates you and why?
Benjamin Niv: My family has always motivated me to want what is best for me and do better in life and on the court. They have always put me first, and as the youngest child in the family, it gave me the strength to keep pushing, no matter how tough things would get. They for sure are my biggest motivation.
Q: What is your proudest accomplishment?
BN: On the court, I would say becoming national champions in my home country (Bulgaria) for juniors and getting my first (ATP) ranking in May 2019. Those are surely the most important milestones in my (tennis) career.
Q: Do you have any pet peeves?
BN: My biggest pet peeve would be dishonesty in people. You can't like and enjoy spending time with everyone but you should always be honest with others. It just really bothers me when people simulate a behavior when that is not how they feel.
Q: What is one of your favorite childhood memories?
BN: It would be when my parents took me and one of my other brothers to the soccer World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Many great memories from that beautiful country, but the one I remember best is when my brother jumped from the highest bungee jump in the world. It was so scary for me as I was so little, but watching him jump inspired and taught me not to fear not only the height, but life obstacles too.
Q: What is one place you'd like to visit, that you haven't before?
BN: I would love to visit South America and do an 8-week tour. It has always been something I wanted to do.
Q: Do you prefer singles or doubles matches?
BN: I would say I love playing both. To be honest I might like to play doubles a little bit more. The game of doubles is just faster and really skill related. It is way more attractive than singles matches but it can never give you the adrenaline that you can feel after winning a long 3 sets singles match.
Q: What is your favorite thing about being on the Campbell tennis team?
BN: I like my team. They have been supportive and welcoming from day one and I see them as my family. We stick together and help each other out on and off-court. I think that exactly that is why we will be doing very well in the next few seasons.
Q: Do you have a routine you perform before competing?
BN: I like talking to my coach for a summary of what my game should look like. I do that because I feel that I am playing better when I have a clear view of my game inside of my mind.
Q: What made you want to play tennis?
BN: When I was a kid I played many sports but the only one I stuck to was tennis. And it's funny because the first person that gave me a racket when I was a child was the prime minister of my country who played at the same club that my parents would go to have lunch on the weekends.
Q: What is something you like to accomplish at Campbell before you leave?
BN: Undoubtedly, I would like to get my degree with the best results possible but as much as I want that, or maybe even more, I would like to get my team to another conference win and get a win at the NCAA tournament that follows.
Q: Coming from Bulgaria, how did Wichita State recruit you and how did you find Campbell?
BN: Getting my first (ATP) ranking helped me get noticed by a few really good schools and one of them was Wichita State. Once I got there, it did not feel like a place I could stay and be happy so I decided to move and got into the transfer portal where different colleges could recruit me. I talked to a few coaches and was not sure about my decision and then Coach (Fred) Lemongo contacted me to check on my situation and told me they were interested. In the end, I was choosing between Penn State and Campbell. I chose Campbell because of a few factors but the most important one was the dedication to the team I saw in Coach (David) Johnson and Coach Lemongo. It felt like they put the effort into training their players and doing the best for us to have a great college experience. So I decided to commit to Campbell and now I see I've made a great decision.
