Mark Backeberg is a freshman math major at Piedmont University. He’s also on the men’s tennis team. Being in America for the first time Backeberg didn’t know what to expect coming in. The Cape Town, South African native quickly learned that he found a new home in the states.
“I was a very active kid growing up, I played a bunch of sports growing up like soccer and South African sports like rugby,” said Backeberg.
Eventually, Backeberg picked up a tennis racquet and it was love at first sight. Backeberg started at the age of 6 and dropped all his other sports shortly after picking up the racquet. With tennis being a huge sport in South Africa, Backeberg had no problem finding a club to improve his skills. While at the club, Backeberg befriended former UGA tennis star Phillip Henning and worked with him to find a college in America.
“He was a shoulder to lean on when it came to what to expect in America playing tennis. I definitely thank him for what he did,” said Backeberg.
Once graduating high school, Backeberg had a decision to make. With the South African school system ending in December, Backeberg had the choice to start somewhere in the spring of 2023 or take a gap year to train. Initially taking a break, his love for the game grew too strong in his time off eventually leading him to search for a collegiate tennis team.
Around August of 2023, Backeberg decided that wanted to play collegiately. His coach had connections state side and reached out to give Backeberg the best opportunity.
“My coach was trying to use my personality as a selling point, that I’m not much of a party animal, that I can be trusted upon and whatever,” said Backeberg.
With the clock running out there wasn’t much time for offers to start rolling in for the upcoming spring semester. Backeberg was able to garner 5 offers ranging from Division 1-Division 3. After much consideration, Backeberg made the decision to go to Piedmont University to continue his tennis career.
“One of my friends, who’s a year younger than me, was looking into Piedmont and we both were interested in the math degree here. So I shot coach Matt a message and the rest is history,” said Backeberg.
Since coming in January of 2024 Backeberg has made waves, boasting a 7-2 singles record at line 3 for the men’s tennis team. With 3 more years left, Backeberg is excited to see what the future holds for him.
