Sophomore mechanical engineering major Valeria Montero, a Harlingen native is a player for the UTRGV Women’s Tennis Team. Montero began her athletic career during the 2019-2020 season.
Q: What is your favorite part of tennis?
would it be and why?
A: “I’ve been expanding my love for
A: “I guess it’s definitely a journey.
tennis because I’ve been getting a lot more invested into it. And, I think one of the things that I have recently developed as my favorite thing is probably the intensity that goes into it. [I like] how you have to stay focused for, like, this amount of duration for the whole point and then it just kind of ends and you have to restart.”
For me, tennis has been a part of my life since I was, like, very young and it’s been, definitely, a lot of ups and downs. [There have been] moments where I’ve just wanted to quit and moments where I’ve been falling in love
Q: If you could play ten-
nis professionally, would you? Why or why not?
A: “Let’s say, I have, you know, an awesome ability later on and I’m developed, then I would say yeah because, you know, you only have one life. If you don’t try it, then you’re never going to see what you [could] do. So, I feel like I would just regret it if I didn’t.”
Q: Who has inspired you to continue playing tennis and why?
A: “I would
say three people in my life, for sure. My mom and dad, obviously, [because] they have been my biggest supporters since I was a baby. And, for sure my current coach, [coach West Nott.] He has inspired me a lot.
with it, like right now. So, that’s why it’s kind of a journey because I just don’t know what to expect, and it just kind of surprises me.”
Q: If you had to sum up your experi-
come out of tennis and why?
ence with tennis into one word, what
from tennis, obviously, like in the physical view. But like I mentioned before, my area of development, like my strength, now is in my mindset. I think that it’s an awesome tool that I have developed from tennis because it can be applied, let’s say later on, when I’m not as invested into tennis and just to everyday life, like, work or whatever.”
Q: What is the best thing that has A: “A lot of good things have come
Q: What is one of your favorite hobbies besides tennis? A: “I’m really into, like, creative arts. I like painting and, like, drawing and stuff. I recently just got into, like, photography, and stuff. I got this drone because my coach has one and I’ve been shooting a lot of cool videos.”
