M. Tennis | Transfer of Dreams for Laalej

He may be 6-foot-6, but Hicham Laalej does not have a devastating jump shot - he has a wicked forehand instead.

The junior transfer from Stetson and Morocco native plays No. 1 singles for the Penn men's tennis team and has lived up to his ranking.

Ironically, his Quakers teammates dubbed him "Hicham the Dream," due to a pronunciation error, confusing "Hicham" (pronounced He-sham) with the first name of NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon. But Laalej's resume at Stetson certainly fit the epithet.

Prior to coming to Penn, Laalej was ranked No. 1 at Stetson in career winning percentage at .917. As a freshman, he was selected as the 2006-07 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year and led the Hatters to a No. 53 national ranking -- their highest ever.

But according to both Penn coach Nik DeVore and Laalej, the transition to the rigorous academics of the Ivy League was not easy.

"I'd say it's been pretty up and down and he would probably tell you the same thing," DeVore said. "He was coming from a decent, solid academic institution, but one where he could certainly focus a little more on his athletics. I think he knew coming to Penn that he was going to be in for a challenge."

Laalej stated that it was hard to get to know people at Penn because "everyone has their own things going on," as they try to balance academics, a social life and the demanding schedule of a Division I tennis player.

"But now as we travel a lot during the spring season we get to know each other a little more," Laalej said.

And although he may be the new guy, Laalej is already making an impact on his younger teammates.

"He has helped me a lot personally," freshman Phil Law said. "He has taught me a lot about the game of tennis and about doubles. But also off the court and in the locker room he is a great leader."

On the court, DeVore and the rest of the coaching staff have been working with Laalej on his footwork and serve in hopes of further harnessing his incredible talent.

With a 6-foot-6, 205-pound body, "he's not a thin 6-6, and footwork for someone of his stature and his size is always going to be important," DeVore said.

Laalej "is just now hitting his stride," according to DeVore, which he believes will help improve the already impressive 15-9 singles record that Laalej has accrued since he came to Penn in the fall.

DeVore emphasized the importance of Laalej's hard-fought March 28 loss (7-5, 3-6, 6-1) to Princeton's superstar senior and 2008 Ivy League player of the year Peter Capkovic. Capkovic , before his days at Princeton, had defeated the likes of Radek Stepanek - the current No. 19 player in the world.

"An unbelievable player," DeVore said when asked about Capkovic. "[Laalej and Capkovic] had . a pro-like match. Hicham didn't win it, but he and I both agree that he will get a lot of confidence out of that for the rest of the season."

Laalej hopes that his new confidence will carry over into Penn's upcoming Ivy matches.

"My parents might be coming here for the Harvard match, so it should be very exciting," Laalej said. "They are coming all the way from Morocco, so it will definitely pump me up to play my best."

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