BU’s First Women’s Basketball Recruit from Russia Weighs in on Navigating Life as an International Student

in Global Matters
March 8th, 2024

Anastasiia Semenova (CAS ’26) grew up “in a big basketball family” in St. Petersburg, Russia. Both of her parents and her brother played basketball, including at the professional level. With the sport being such a big tradition in their family, Semenova credits her parents and brother with instilling in her a love for the game that she began playing at a young age.

“The idea of going to the States to play basketball was definitely my parents’ idea that they kind of introduced me to because my brother was actually doing the exact same thing,” she says. “He left home when he was 14 and he went to high school…then got a bunch of offers. He was a really great player and decided to go to James Madison University to pursue his basketball career and academics. So I’m definitely following in his footsteps in a sense.”

During recruiting season, Semenova wasn’t able to travel to BU but she made her mark nonetheless – from more than 4,000 miles away – by writing to the coaching staff and sharing a highlight reel that showcased her many talents as a player. She made an impression on the coaches, as Semenova went on to become the first recruit from Russia for the Women’s Basketball program. She also holds the designation as being the first international first-year student athlete in the program since 2015.

“BU was definitely at the top of my list,” Semenova says. “I ended up having like four or five offers from different Division I schools, and that was honestly way more than I expected, being away from the States for recruiting. BU ended up being my top choice because of the academics and strong coaching staff that created an atmosphere where I realized I’ll have a family away from my family, which was really important for me as an international student.”

Women’s Basketball Head Coach Melissa Graves describes Semenova as “a great basketball player who has a high IQ, plays with pace, and puts pressure on the defense by being a threat from both inside and the perimeter.” Graves notes how impressive it is that Semenova has grown in so many facets over the past year and says her essential leadership qualities have helped drive their team’s success both on and off the floor.

As an international student at BU, Semenova is double majoring in computer science and economics and minoring in business. She enjoys finding community alongside her fellow international student athletes, of which there are many throughout the athletic department on different sports teams, especially with sports that are popular outside of the U.S.

Bonding with her fellow teammates helped ease the culture shock she felt when Semenova first came to BU. While the women’s basketball team did not have any other international students on its roster when she started, she found community with her fellow teammates and with the coaching staff. Now, as a sophomore, Semenova is thrilled to mentor other international students who are on the team or will join soon.

“This year we have two Spanish girls who are freshmen, and we have one who is a transfer from Estonia, which is kind of close to me [Russia],” she says. “I’ve been to Estonia, and she has been to Russia so we kind of bonded over how we are both from Eastern Europe, which was great… I like that the freshmen international [students] ask me ‘how do we do this?’, ‘where do we get that?’…I tell them don’t worry, I got it figured out,” she says with a laugh.

In addition to navigating cultural differences when Semenova first came to the U.S., she also had to learn the subtle differences in how basketball is played in America vs. in Europe. “That was such a shock to me because certain things that I used to do I can’t do here now, or vice versa,” she says. “There are some differences in rules of the game as well as pace and physicality of it. American basketball is played much faster, and there is an emphasis on getting stronger in the weight room, which leads to a more physical game. There’s also more of a hierarchy here, if that makes sense, where there are stricter restrictions on certain positions.”

Having to learn some new rules of the game while navigating language and cultural differences – all while being the only person on the team from Russia – could have toppled the 6 feet, 2 inches tall power forward, but she rose to the occasion.

With a classic student athlete persevering-at-all-costs outlook, Semenova told herself and tells other new international student athletes, “It will get better. It will get better. Maybe not in a week or a month or two, but it will. You will adjust and everything will work out fine. Don’t lose your hope.”

“Ana was the first to offer help to our newest members of the team who are also international, and she has been a huge factor in their positive transition,” says Head Coach Graves. “Amongst all her team contributions, she has found success in the classroom too. Many people would struggle with everything Ana has on her plate, yet she does it all, in a second language and so far from home. This is why Ana embodies what it means to be resilient.”

On and off the court, Semenova is shining. On the court, she scored a season-high 21 points in early January against Lafayette. “This season, our team is very new with six freshmen and two transfers,” she says. “This has given me a chance to take on a leadership role as one of the few people who know the program and have been with the team for a while.”

Looking forward, Semenova wants to not only improve her leadership skills but also continue developing other skills that will be useful in life after basketball. “I continue working hard in the classroom, looking for internships and future job opportunities. Overall, I am enjoying this stage of my life, knowing that there’s more to explore and achieve beyond the basketball court.”

In Russia, Semenova was a member of the expanded Russian National U18 Team. She was an All-Star on the U16 team that captured the European Girls Basketball League championship. In her career, she has won two Russian Championship bronze medals on the U16 and U18 teams and a bronze in the Russian Women’s Super League Division I. On a more localized level, she is a three-time gold medalist in the St. Petersburg Championship.