Coach Karen Shelton has seen her fair share of international students in her 32-year tenure, but she said Grove stood out to her from the start.
“Janne has been an absolute joy from the first time she contacted me to today,” Shelton said. “She’s just very low-maintenance, she just does what she’s supposed to do at a very high level and doesn’t complain about it.”
Shelton had never had a graduate student on her team, but immediately got in contact with the MBA office to make Grove her first.
While Grove’s field hockey career was enough to convince Shelton she would be an asset in UNC’s championship program, Grove still had another program to impress.
Of the Kenan-Flagler’s MBA class of 280, 73 percent are male and only 28 percent are from outside the U.S. On average, the graduate students have five years of work experience prior to enrolling in the MBA program.
Grove was coming straight from undergraduate.
Shelton collaborated with the MBA program and was able to fly her German prospect to UNC for an official 48-hour visit. But before the coach could get her hands on her new recruit, Grove was whisked away for an MBA interview.
While nervous going into the interview, Grove came out reassured. She had been weighing multiple options before her visit. Afterwards she realized she had no choice.
“I just fell in love with Chapel Hill,” she said.
‘She’s a grown-up’
Shelton had arranged for Grove to come to Chapel Hill in the summer to familiarize herself with the frantic lifestyle she was soon to adapt, but even with the extra time, Shelton remembers questioning her newcomer’s ability to juggle the extreme schedule.
“I think that I wasn’t sure she was going to be able to handle it,” Shelton said. “It’s a huge deal.”
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While others may have been wary of what Grove was attempting, she showed no signs of panic. Academic Counselor Tony Yount remembers the stark juxtaposition Grove presented when compared to his usual students.
“She’s a grown-up,” he said. “You can just count on her to do what she needs to do. She’s not going to get panicked, she’s not going to get out of control, she’s not going to get all crazy, she’s going to do her job.”
That job is something that Grove herself doesn’t want to think too much about. When asked about her weekly workload, she paused.
“Oh, I haven’t even calculated that,” Grove said while breaking out into a nervous laugh. “That would be so depressing. I mean, it’s a lot, but I knew that that would come and it’s just perfect that everything works out so good.”
In true fashion, Grove is able to find the silver lining in the fact that two activities consume her day-to-day life.
“I think it’s hard on the one side but also helps on the other side because I have just two things to concentrate on,” she said. “I always get a break from sports or from going to classes and I like that mix.”
Though practices serve as self-proclaimed stress relievers for Grove, senior midfielder Marta Malmberg — who is in the business school as an undergraduate — said Grove does not let her inner problems become evident on the surface.
“I honestly can’t begin to imagine how hard it is but the really neat thing is Janne makes it look very easy,” she said. “She never complains. At least if she is stressed, she doesn’t bring that to practice and I think that’s really neat. I know she is definitely doing a lot and she’s handling it so flawlessly it’s actually amazing.”
‘A limited time’
This season is just Grove’s first year playing for the Tar Heels, but due to a relatively new NCAA regulation, it will also be her last.
Though she hasn’t played a full season of collegiate field hockey yet, her three seasons playing at a club level while in Germany count against her four years of eligibility.
“She does only have a year with us but it already feels like she’s been here so long,” Malmberg said. “We feel … like she’s been here with us for a long time because she is so mature and does bring so much to this team.”
For Grove, the short stay is bittersweet.
“I know it’s a limited time, I know I just have to work through that and then it will get a little easier,” she said. “So it’s a mixed feeling. Of course I would love to be longer on the team, but also for my academics, it’s necessary that I can concentrate a little bit more on that after the season ends.”
With the addition of Grove, the Tar Heels claim one of the deepest rosters in recent history and are ranked No. 3 with one game remaining in their regular season — a Saturday matchup at No. 2 Syracuse.
UNC has reached four consecutive NCAA title games, so while Grove looks forward to the break her offseason will bring, she is also doing everything in her power to make sure it doesn’t come too soon.
sports@dailytarheel.com
