The blustery wind and piercing cold hammered him like a crisp right hook. This certainly wasn't what he was used to. At least not back home in Canberra, Australia, where the sun seemed to shine with unrealistic regularity.

For Mike Anderson, a junior on the Penn State men's tennis team, the question was never whether or not he'd go to school in America; the question was simply where he'd go.

And unfortunately for him he chose a school whose daily forecast ranks just above hell in terms of appeal. However, he didn't let that deter him.

"Penn State looked like a big school and I was interested in the American college experience," Anderson said. "Penn State seemed to exemplify that.

"This is one of the few places in the world where you can get an education and play at such a high level of sport."

Anderson said he looked at a few local schools but none of them offered the level of tennis competition that he was seeking, which made his decision to leave that much easier.

And although trekking halfway across the world to attend a university would certainly scare the average teenager, for Anderson, leaving home was almost a given.

"There are a lot of Australians between 18 and 25 that travel to get a bit of a look at the world," he said.

Those close to Anderson know that if anyone could make such a robust adaptation it was he. His personality seems to exemplify that.

According to his coaches, his infectious personality has made him a favorite among his teammates.

"Mike is probably one of the more well liked guys on the team," assistant coach Bill Potoczny said.

"He's one of those guys who doesn't seem to get too stressed out or worked up about things. He's competitive but lighthearted, he has a real uplifting personality."

Although the jovial Anderson hasn't found himself in the regular singles lineup, he has approached his doubles play with an unmatched fervor and his coaches have taken notice.

"One of the things that Michael brings is the enjoyment of the doubles play," head coach Jan Bortner said. "A lot of guys like to play singles so you need guys who have an enjoyment of the doubles play."

Anderson said that he likes both singles and doubles but enjoys the team aspect of doubles play along with the intensity that it provides.

"They're both different games and they require different types of skills," he said.

"Everything happens so fast, it's very rapid fire."

Some athletes view practice as nothing more than an unwarranted hassle, personified by their apathetic body language.

However, Potoczny feels that Anderson has the unique ability to motivate his teammates and get them interested when it seems like they'd rather be somewhere else.

"You know when he comes to practice he's going to be upbeat and that helps bring the other guys up," Potoczny said.

His ability to adapt and deal with whatever comes his way has also served him well on the tennis court.

Instead of getting down on himself or his teammates, Anderson chooses to accept the outcome and move on without any thought or hindsight.

"I think his personality on the court is of a guy who rolls with the punches very well," Bortner said.

"He doesn't get all hyper or upset when he's not doing so well."

Anderson agrees with his coaches' sentiments but said that he does use tennis as a form of release as well.

"I tend to let out all the aggression from the daily grind," he said.

He hopes to continue taking out all of his hostilities on his opponents and help the team in any fashion he can.

"I'm concerned more about team goals," Anderson said. "I'm just hoping we can win a few matches in the Big Ten and I am looking forward to doing whatever coach wants me to do, be it doubles singles or whatever.""I'm concerned more about team goals," Anderson said. "I'm just hoping we can win a few matches in the Big Ten and I am looking forward to doing whatever coach wants me to do, be it doubles singles or whatever."