March 29, 2005

Senior Bronc tennis player Jeremy Salvo (Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada/Centennial Secondary School) started playing tennis at the age of six and has been engrossed in the sport ever since. He credits his father for getting him on the court.

"My dad has always been the biggest influence as far as tennis goes," said Salvo. "He actually learned tennis from a book. He thought it would be a really good individual sport that teaches you character so he introduced it to me when I was young."

The UTPA senior says that his parental support prompted him to play tennis at the collegiate level.

"I always wanted to play competitive tennis. Ideally - I always wanted to go pro, but it is really difficult to go pro in any sport," said Salvo. "My parents always encouraged me to go to school and get an education while I'm doing what I want to do, which is play tennis. They said, `Go for it.'"

The hard work and dedication Salvo put forth in his adolescent years has paid off. Today, he is the captain of the UTPA men's tennis team and has received several honors for his tennis and academic endeavors.

"I've been most proud of being nominated for UTPA Male-Athlete of the Year and also the Southland Conference Player of the Year a couple of years ago," said Salvo.

According to Salvo, playing tennis at UTPA has been an educative experience.

"I've learned a lot in all areas. I've learned a lot about being a team player because tennis is an individual sport. Playing on a team makes you appreciate having your teammates around you because you can only contribute so much to the team score," Salvo added.

Salvo also has found that tennis has taught him things he can use in his life off the court.

"I've learned how to deal with all types of adversity and being a business major, that's really beneficial because you're going to face a lot of stuff in the business world. Also being the team captain and being the voice of the team and the voice of the coaches to the team has brought a lot of balance to my life," said Salvo.

Salvo is nearly 3,000 miles away from his hometown and says he misses his family and friends. However - one of his favorite things about the Rio Grande Valley is the weather. He says that the ability to play tennis year-round is one of the reasons why he chose to attend UTPA.

On Tuesday (Mar. 22), Salvo and his Bronc and Lady Bronc teammates competed at UTPA's Orville Cox Tennis Center against Laredo Community College. Both UTPA teams won their matches, 4-3.

Salvo and teammate Rehman Esmail (Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada/North Carolina State) won their doubles match, but Salvo faltered in his singles contest to LCC's Alejandro Gonzalez, 6-4 and 6-4.

"Jeremy didn't have one of his better days, and he'd tell you that," said head tennis coach Paul Soliz. "He was playing one of the best players in junior college tennis in the country. Jeremy has had better days, but knowing the leader that he is, I'm sure he is just happy the team won."

Despite his singles stumble, Salvo is still very much a large part of the success of the Broncs' tennis program.

"We are going to miss him next year. He is a born leader, and he has been excellent in that department. I'm going to hate losing him as a player, but also I'm going to hate losing him as the captain of our team. He is somebody that provides a lot of leadership for us," concluded Soliz.

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