Like many starry-eyed children, Ana Milosavljevic dreamed of becoming a tennis star, joining the ranks of her role models Kim Clijsters and Steffi Graf.

The freshman insists her immediate goal is now focused on academics, but Milosavljevic traveled all the way from Johannesburg, South Africa to accept a full-ride scholarship at MSU to play tennis.

"I love everything about (tennis)," she said. "It's a place for me where I can forget about everything else and focus on tennis and enjoy it. It's just a place to get away."

Milosavljevic began playing tennis at the age of 9. In high school, she attended a sports academy dedicated to producing accomplished athletes.

Tennis players, swimmers and soccer players practiced sports in the morning and attended academic classes during the afternoon.

On the weekends, they traveled together for local and international tournaments, matches and games.

After graduating from the sports academy, the natural progression for many students is attending college in the United States to further their athletic careers.

To narrow down the wide college search, Milosavljevic had a personal helper — her tennis coach.

"My coach contacted the schools that he thought I would do well in and be happy in," she said. "We got a hold of the tennis coach here and he was interested in recruiting a player. We sent a CD of me playing and he liked it, and that's pretty much it. My coach didn't really talk to me about the other (schools)."

But when the time came to make the big move, Milosavljevic said she was definitely apprehensive.

"I was very nervous," she said. "High school and college are completely different, and then it's a whole different country."

After a successful transition, Milosavljevic has become close friends with all of her teammates and is enjoying the perks of college — especially the freedom factor.

In Johannesburg, danger lurks on every street corner. No one goes out alone. So being able to freely traipse across campus has been a luxury, Milosavljevic said.

"In South Africa there is a lot of crime, especially in Johannesburg," she said. "There's not really any public transportation, so you need a car — you can't walk around. There's a lot more freedom here. I can walk down the streets and I don't have to worry about getting mugged."

Milosavljevic is getting used to other differences as well.

In South Africa, people drive on the right side of the road instead of the left, she said.

Vocabulary also differs. In South Africa, for example, a trash can is called a dust bin, a car trunk is called a boot and a traffic light is called a robot, she said.

Although Milosavljevic has lived in South Africa for about 17 years of her life, she was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Her family moved to South Africa when she was 2 years old because of the war and chaotic political situation.

But Milosavljevic is not so different from American students. She is an avid reader — especially of the Harry Potter series — and she loves "all the (music) that the college students like" — which, according to her, includes everything but country and jazz.

Yes, Milosavljevic says she's just a normal college student concentrating on college life.

"When I was younger, of course (going pro) was more of a goal, but now I just kind of want to think about college," she said.