Junior Trent Botha is a South African native from Cape Town who figured out his true passion at the young age of 7.
 
Influenced and inspired by his tennis star family, Botha picked up on the sport pretty quickly. His inspiration to play the game grew as he would watch his older siblings play with his father Dean Botha--a former ATP World Tour player.
 
The talent does not end there. Trent's older siblings played an integral role in him choosing to pursue tennis as well. Botha's older brother Jarryd is an Alabama Men's Tennis alumnus.
 
As his second spring season at the U of A approaches, Botha is eager to improve his skills, stand as a strong and supportive team player, and defeat some big competition.  During the 2015-16 Spring season while on his tour with teammate Men's Tennis alum, Naoki Takeda, he ended with a 2-1 record and a 3-1 dual record with Senior Harry Busby.
 
ArizonaWildcats.com recently sat down with Botha to chat about his childhood with tennis and what the future holds for the Arizona Men's Tennis team.
 
On deciding to play in the U.S.:
"My brother went to the University of Alabama, so I think he influenced me quite a bit. He said great things about America, and obviously, collegiate tennis in America is really high up there.  I think it was the best opportunity for me too. Coming from South Africa, there aren't really too many opportunities to pursue a career in tennis and to get a scholarship."
 
On when he began playing tennis:
"At age 3 or 4, I started just putting a racket in my hand and hitting tennis balls around. I used to go to my (tennis) club, and my brother used to play with my father. My brother is four years older than me, and my sister is seven years older than me. They used to just mess around, and my dad would show them the way on the court, and I used to just sit on the side and hit balls around on the fence and on the wall. It just grew on me from then. It started becoming a real passion of mine. Once I hit 6 or 7 (years old), I actually began competing and that's when it really stuck with me. I started playing in tournaments and matches, and I mean once you start playing and start winning, that feeling of winning on your own on the court was just too good to give up. I've played a lot of sports in my day. I've played rugby, which is similar to football. I've played cricket, which is similar to baseball. So, I've played all these sports at school and tennis was the one that I found the most fitting for me. It's also been in my family for so many years because my dad played professional."
 
On his earliest tennis memory:
"I still remember hitting on that wall back at home at my (tennis) club. I still go back there and hit on the same wall, it's crazy. I remember hitting on that wall hours on end and working on things."
 
On favorite tennis memories from competitive play:
"Representing South Africa. I went to the Czech Republic to play in the Junior Davis Cup. It was South Africa versus 10 or 12 different countries. It was on clay too, which is something I've never experienced before. We only have really hard courts in South Africa. I was going to a whole new country. It was the first time with me playing with a whole new set up on a completely different surface. Plus representing your country is the highest privilege you could possibly get for me at least. So that was probably one of the highest, most influential moments in my career."
 
On what he likes and appreciates about Coach Clancy Shields:
"I think he's just so passionate about tennis. He's willing to sacrifice so much for the team, so much for every single person. He is willing to put in so much work and effort just to grow this program and get it to where he wants it to be. His ambitious nature is unbelievable. He influences the guys so much with the way he shows us what a top program should look like -- the way to train, act, and just play tennis. The guy has the most passion I've ever seen in a coach. He wants us to win so bad, and he's willing to put so much effort and work in to get us there."
 
On what he's looking forward to this year:
"I am looking forward to just competing with the guys. We have a really good group of guys and we're really close, so I think it's just competing for one another. Obviously, I would like to do really well personally, but the team comes first when Spring comes around because we're playing as a team, and we want to get those wins against some big schools. We've already got a tough schedule coming up, so I think it's more just winning for the team and for the guys more than on a personal level.
 
On team goals:
"Our team goal would be making NCAAs. We haven't made it for a few years. Being ranked throughout the year would be another one. If we were ranked then we would have the opportunity to play in the NCAAs. So basically picking up some ranked ones early in the season and then going from there and taking that momentum further.
 
On favorite hobby outside of tennis:
"Rugby. I have always loved rugby. That's why I'm so into fitness because that is a very physical sport, so you've got to be up to it. I enjoy going out and playing rugby with my friends. It's so different than tennis because it's such a physical game. If I wasn't playing tennis, I would definitely be playing rugby."