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Five minutes with Dean O'Brien

Jan. 25, 2010

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Nickname: Ched / legend
Favorite Campus: Universirty of Central Florida
Tennis facility I want to play in: Harvard
Most serious player on the team: me
One word to describe Coach Thorne: intense
Favorite thing Coach Thorne says: You have to learn to love the it when you have a battle on your hands
Favorite moment of tennis career: winning ITF tournament when i was 17 in my home country South Africa in front of family and friends
Goal for the season: To make it to NCAAs and have a near perfect singles win / loss record
Person with most influence on my game: Coach Thorne/ Aljosa/ Clarence
If I could change one thing about tennis: bad umpires
Best player I’ve played with: Taylor Dent
Favorite athlete in another sport: Bryan Habana (South African rugby player)
Favorite non-sports person: My dad
Favorite sports team: South Africa rugby team (the Springboks)
Favorite sport besides tennis: golf
Favorite tennis player: Rafael Nadal
Favorite thing to eat before a match: strawberry yogurt
My pre-match superstition: must put left sock and shoe on before the right side
Favorite cereal: Lucky Charms
Favorite late night snack: Zoo biscuits
Favorite place to eat in Atlanta: 10 Degrees (South African cuisine)
Favorite video game: Tiger Woods Golf
Favorite movie: Blood Diamond/ Law Abiding Citizen
Favorite sports movie: Coach Carter
Favorite television program: Prison Break
Favorite musical artist: David Guetta
Favorite toy as a child: crocodile / tricycle
Favorite song to sing in shower: You Gotta Show Me Love
Favorite place in the world: St. Francis, South Africa
Dream vacation: any exotic island
First job I ever had: doing my dad’s stock market portfolio
The thing I like best about Georgia Tech: the facilities and academics
My “welcome to college” moment: running sprints on the tennis courts
First thing I would do with a million dollars: buy my girlfriend a huge diamond ring
My worst phobia: snakes
One thing I couldn’t live without: cell phone
One thing people don’t know about me: big mommy’s boy
One thing I wish I was better at: golf

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