SPOTLIGHT In the Spotlight: Nick Sklavounos By John-Paul Hezel Hoya Staff Writer
Charles Nailen/The Hoya
Sport: Tennis
Height/Weight: 6 -foot-0, 168 lbs.
Hometown: Waterford, Conn.
High School: Waterford H.S.
School/Year: COL ’02
Major: Computer Science
Minor: Math
High School Highlights:United States Tennis Association No. 1-ranked doubles player in New England … New England singles champion … 40-1 record … All-State … Team captain … State Open Semifinalist.
Georgetown Highlights: No. 1 singles player sophomore and junior years … Team captain … Big East Academic All-American.
Favorite professor at Georgetown: Professor Der-Chen Chang. I had him for linear algebra and multvariable calculus. He’s funny and fair. He makes math exciting. He’s bubbly, gets up to the board and makes jokes. I also like Professor Brian Blake, who I have for an independent study in software engineering. He’s laid back, an interesting dude. He shows how things apply to the real world.
Favorite team: New York Knicks
Favorite athlete: Patrick Ewing
You are the lead singer and acoustic guitarist in a cover band called High Life. Who is in the band with you and why did you choose that name? Chip Mulaney on electric guitar, Adam Daniels on the drums and Jaques Arsenault on the bass. We chose the name because [Miller] High Life is the official drink of The Tombs. I don’t even like the name to be honest.
What song do you play the best? “Free Bird” is a classic. We also do a good “Sweet Home Alabama.”
Songs you have the most fun performing: “Melt With You” and “Another Saturday Night.” Adam goes crazy on the drums and Chip just jams out.
Songs that psychs you up the most: Guns N Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf.”
Three books on your ideal bookshelf: Lord of the Rings, Catcher in the Rye … that’s it. I’m not a big reader.
Three magazines on your coffee table: Guitar World Acoustic, Rolling Stone and a British music magazine that I can’t think the name of.
Worst fear: People who are stuck on their own views that don’t listen to what you have to say. The stubborn people, the closed-minded people.
Favorite board game: Chess
Trait you hate most in a person: Unfriendliness
Trait you like most in a person: Honesty, versatility
Favorite bar: Mulligan’s in Lauderdale by the Sea, Fla.The team always hung out there when we went on Spring Break.
Favorite place: The Caribbean. I love the palm trees and the sun and the beach.
Food you never want to be without: Vanilla yogurt
Preferred beverage: Margharitas
Best concert you’ve ever been to:
Jimmy Buffet. Not because the music was the best but because the scene was the greatest – Hawaiian shirts, coconut bikinis, chilling in the parking lot, flipping hamburgers – just laid back. He’s my favorite performer. I also like Bob Marley and Paul Simon. The best concert music-wise was U2 at Baltimore. Bono is an amazing vocalist and has great stage presence.
You and two of the other players on the team, Ken Jordan and Andre Benjamin, have called yourselves the Fab Three since you were freshmen. Have the Fab Three lived up to its potential? Definitely. Kenny and I are a solid doubles team. Kenny’s turned out to be a pretty good doubles player when he doesn’t go crazy. I keep him in line. Andre’s come a long way in four years. We’re tight. It’s fun to hang out with each other.
Favorite surface on which to play: Hardcourt. I grew up on hardcourts. My serve and volley game isn’t conducive to clay. Whatever the fastest surface is best for me. I like to run to the net.
Preferred racket: My Wilson racket. I’ve had it for 10 years. I’m not a big equipment guy. I just like to play.
Besides music and tennis, what are your favorite activities to keep busy? Lifting weights, excercise and triathlons. I did a triathlon a couple summers ago and I’ll do another one after I graduate.
What are your plans for right after graduation? I’m going to Europe for two months with my girlfriend. We’re going to the Greek Islands – it’ll be the sixth time I’ve been there – Spain, Paris and Prague. In August, I’ll start work at the Mitre Corporation either in D.C. or in assachusetts.
What will you miss most about Georgetown? Hanging out with the tennis guys, road trips with the team, meeting a wide diversity of people and jammin’ with High Life.
What will you miss least? Classes and schoolwork
What is the craziest thing you have ever done? Dated my present girlfriend, Kristen, who goes to Brown, ’cause she’s crazy.
What makes her crazy? She’s very liberal and outspoken. She’s just a dangerous blonde – but I like messing with danger.
What is under your bed right now? My Martin guitar. I love it. It’s my most prized possesion. That and my girlfriend.
