Hailing from the land of a thousand lakes, Ristomatti Lanne is a tennis player ready to push his team ahead as they chase after a Sun Belt Championship victory this year.

Lanne is a junior journalism major from Finland and he is part of the men’s tennis team for this spring semester. Through Jan. 13, he has put up a 9-4 record. With his most recent win over Georgia Tech senior Eduardo Segura, Lanne looks to keep his high from the fall season ongoing.

As a native to Finland, moving to Georgia Southern University was a big move for Lanne. Although Lanne had gone to Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina first, GSU had something that Lander did not.

“I wanted to combine studies and tennis,” Lanne said. “I thought it would be nice to play D-1 tennis.”

GSU’s large scale, small feel atmosphere won Lanne over quickly. The “overall feeling as students” was something Lanne expressed feeling during his time here so far.

“You can feel like you’re part of a community,” Lanne said. “With football and basketball… Everyone is together as one big family.”

The season may have started with a team loss against Georgia Tech, but that is not keeping the Eagles down. Lanne wants to do what he can to keep the team moving forward so they have a real shot at taking the championship this year.

“Tennis is an individual sport. But it would be selfish to just think of myself. I need to think of the team first,” Lanne said. “I need to do my part and then do as much I can for the team.”

We got an opportunity to do a Q&A with Lanne afterwards to get a little more insight into his life and personality.

1. Where are you from? 

– Kangasala, Finland

2. How old are you?

– 22

3. Do you have a nickname?

– “Rice” or “Ris”

4. What type of music do you like listening to? 

– Finnish, but open to everything. Country, house; everything.

5. What words would you use to describe yourself?

– Honest, hard-working, committed

6. What do you like to do in your free time?

– Play golf, disk golf; all-around follow sports

7. What age did you start playing tennis regularly?

– 6 when I started, and became interested. Ten, more seriously.

8. Best thing about playing tennis?

– Getting all the experiences traveling abroad. Fifteen to twenty countries. It also brought me here.

9. Most memorable moment playing tennis?

– Winning singles and doubles in the high school championship, 2011.

10. What do you want to do after graduation?

– I really want to try and be a professional tennis player, but it’s hard to know how that will work. So, graduating and doing my masters in Finland.

Lanne and the men’s tennis team will have their second meet against Kennesaw State at home in the Wallis Tennis Center next to Hanner on Saturday, Jan. 24. It will start at 12 p.m.