Alejandro Gonzalez, El Salvador
Four saints compete at ITA national tournament Efren Rivero Sports Editor
Lopez continues family tradition of tennis Efren Rivero Sports editor Paula Lopez was raised up in Tucuman, Argentina. While living there, she grew up playing tennis at an academy where she played with her family everyday. Lopez now has 13 years of playing tennis, but enjoys other hobbies as well. “My hobbies are playing ping pong in the student union and suppporting the other Saints athletic teams at their events,” said Coyos. “I love just about any sport, especially watching and playing soccer and basketball.” Something that helped Lopez was being raised in a family that breathed tennis. “My family’s involvement in tennis definitely motivated me. All of them played, and my brothers played at a high level. I also learned a lot from my sister who
played team tennis in Germany for six years. She has always been a big source of support,” said Lopez. Lopez now faces a big opportunity for her after a successfull fall season. Her singles record is 11-2 and her doubles record is 11-3. “The opportunity is here for me to accomplish my goals, and I want to show the nation who we are,” said Coyos. Coyos likes to prepare for a game by warming up and then spending time alone. She uses this time to focus on her match and visual some shots along with making a strategy for her game. Coyos added, “I am so proud to be a part of Seward County. [I want to] say thanks for giving me this opportunity. The people of Liberal are very nice and have made me feel so comfortable here.”
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Paula Lopez, Argentina
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Four freshman from the Seward County Saints tennis team have made it to the 2013 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Tournament. Paula Lopez, Paula Coyos, Alejandro Gonazalez and Ronzi Saurombe are headed to Florida to compete for a National Championship. Both of the doubles teams had to wait to find out if they had made it to Nationals after losing in the finals at the ITA Regional Tournament in Oklahoma City. Both ended up with second place and did not earn an automatic bid for Nationals. Yet hope was not lost. Jerry Thor, head coach of the tennis team, delivered the good news
to his players that they were headed to Florida. Thor said, “I was thrilled when I heard the news because these kids work very hard for these opportunities, and it’s great to see the college represented at the biggest tennis event of the year by four outstanding student-athletes.” Paula Coyos and Paula Lopez, both from Argentina, have had a great fall season. Together they have a 11-3 record and have beaten eight different #1 teams. Seven of which have been from four year universities. They previously won the Metro State Invitational, and finished runner up at the Bethany Invitational and ITA Regional Tournament. Coyos and Lopez are just the second Se-
ward womens doubles team to qualify for the ITA Nationals. Ronzai Saurombe, from Zimbabwe, and Alejandro Gonzalez, from El Salvador, also have had an impressive performance. Their record is 11-1 for this fall season, with the loss coming in the ITA Regionals finals. They, too, have beaten seven teams from NAIA or NCAA schools. Saurombe and Gonzalez won the tournament title at the Bethany Invitational and also won the Metro State Invitational. This pair made history as the first Seward County mens players to make it to the ITA National tournament. Thor said, “The preparation for this event began the day they stepped foot on campus. With just five weeks to get fresh-
man up to speed, we have been practicing as much as the weather allows.” The ITA National championship is being held at Fort Myers, Florida. This is composed of eight regional champions and other teams that qualified from NCAA Divisions II and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges. At first, they will compete in their own divisional level. After the chamipons are crowned, the winners in the singles and doubles at each divisional level will compete to become the overall champions. These champions will then earn the chance, or wild card, into the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. The final event will be held at USTA- Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
“The competition is brutally tough, and they will need to play their best to win. But as their invitation has shown, they have definitely proved themselves capable of the task,” said Thor. “From the day they signed at Seward County, these four kids have had to handle the huge amount of pressure put on them. Now, they have been given a moment to achieve greatness, and I know they won’t hold back.” When Thor looks for new players to recruit for the tennis team, he looks for players who are serious about training to win and doing all the things that go with it. Thor concluded by saying about his players, “These players are outstanding representatives of the college and community. They have ambitious goals and stay
Ronzai Saurombe, Zimbabwe
Paula Coyos, Argentina
Saints around the world Internationals to nationals International tennis players go to nationals Saints to Florida
Gonzalez sets racket on competition ahead Efren Rivero Sports editor
Top ranked player, Saurombe from Zimbabwe takes up challenge at nationals Efren Rivero Sports editor Ronzai Saurombe is from Mutare, Zimbabwe where he grew up playing tennis. He has been playing tennis for ten years now. He first started playing when he was only ten years old at Zimbabwe at Mantas Tennis Academy. “My parents, my coach Freeman, and other players who have done it before always [have] motivated me. I believe in myself and that I am capable of achieving the best I can through hard work. All [of] that has carried me through from the beginning to where I am,” said Saurombe. To have been selected to go to Nationals means a lot to Saurombe. “I feel so blessed to be among such a wonderful group of tennis players from Seward. I am ready to keep working hard with Coach Jerry to achieve the best we can as a team.” “Being one of the four selected to represent Seward is such a good feeling and I feel so
focused on working very hard to achieve them. Best of all is the heart they show on and off the court. They play with courage that both onlookers and opponents admire. And they truly care about the team, their teammates, and the institution they represent.” Competition for Lopez and Coyos will begin at 4 p.m. Thursday against Owen and Chowdhary from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Saurombe and Gonzalez begin their competition at Nationals against Cutura and Martell from Tyler Junior College, who are ranked first seed in the tournament, Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
honored to represent such a good school in a big tournament like this with all my team mates,” said Saurombe. Besides playing tennis, Saurombe also enjoys playing soccer and ping-pong. He also enjoys just simply hanging out with friends. To get ready for games, Saurombe doesn’t do anything special. Saurombe said, “After my physical warm-up to get my muscles warm. I enjoy listening to one of my favorite artists, Jay Z, and I enjoy talking to my team mates because I feel so comfortable around them. Laughing with them makes me relax and calm my nerves so I do not feel scared in my match. I love my team and the supporting administration from Seward and all the community members. I am ready to work with all to achieve the best for the team and school.” Going to nationals means that Saurombe will only add fuel to his record that he has carried from his home town, maintaining his top ranking.
Opportunity arises for Coyos this season Efren Rivero Sports editor Paula Coyos has been playing the game of tennis for nine years now. She grew up playing tennis in Tucuman, Argentina. She played at the Lawn Tennis Club. “I was [there for] all of the day to see my old sister practice. And then I started to practice with her,” said Coyos. Coyos enjoys other activities along with tennis. Her hobbies include listening to music and also giving tennis lessons. Other sports she enjoys are ping pong and volleyball. Coyos thanks her family for helping her
out. “My family...motivated me. My mother and my father where there all the time. [They] supported what I want to do with tennis,” said Coyos. Before playing, she likes to prepare for a game by focusing and putting music on while she starts to warm up. While participating in this big tournament, Coyos will be representing the Saints and will have a chance to show their hard work and training they have done throught the season. Coyos said, “I feel very proud to represent Seward County Community College. We worked hard to achieve as a team.”
Alejandro Gonzalez is a freshman from San Salvador, El Salvador, and will be representing Seward at the national championship. He grew up in El Salvador playing tennis for most of his life. This is now his ninth year playing tennis. Yet playing tennis is not the only thing he enjoys. Gonzalez also enjoys other hobbies. For example, he enjoys playing other sports like soccer. He also likes video games and going horseback riding. But to be where he is now, in the ITA National Championship, he has some people that were there to motivate him and push him to be here. “My mother, my ex-tennis coach, and my little brother,” said Gonzalez. “I [also]
want to give thanks to my coach because of the big opportunity he gave [me] to be on his team [and] for being a part of it. My best wishes for all the nationals players [and] the best of luck.” The tennis team is currently coached by Jerry Thor. This is Thor’s second year coaching the tennis team. Right before a competition, Gonzalez takes time to prepare. Some of the things that Gonzalez likes to do before a big game are to just hydrate himself and to focus on the next match. Then he tries to relax and be calm. Gonzalez’s preparation has shown in his results. His current singles record for the fall season is 10-3. In doubles with Saurombe, their record is 11-1. Gonzalez concluded saying, “I am very glad to be part of this. I feel proud and [am] very happy for me and for my team.