Big Signing Day For Saints Tennis
Three Seward County Tennis players signed on the dotted line Thursday afternoon in the All-American Room at SCCC marking one of the biggest signing days for the Seward tennis program. Ronzai Saurombe signed to play at Gonzaga next season while doubles partners Paula Lopez and Paula Coyos will play together once again at West Florida.
Saurombe, a 2013 ITA National Champion in doubles, signs to play at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Saurombe has played at the top of the Saints lineup since the day he walked onto campus, putting together a 74-18 overall record including a 42-8 record during his sophomore season with Seward. He is currently ranked 11th in the country in both singles and doubles play and coincidentally also has a matching 11-3 record in each this Spring. Saurombe was recently crowned the Region VI Champion at #1 singles and #1 doubles as he led the Saints to their first Region VI Championship in program history. He will join a Gonzaga program heading in the right direction after one of their finest seasons in school history in 2015. The 'Zags were an even .500 at 11-11 playing a grueling schedule in 2015 which included the likes of top 50 opponents San Diego, Drake, and Pepperdine. Gonzaga's three West Coast Conference wins in 2015 were a program best and they also won their first WCC Tournament match in history with a victory over Santa Clara. Saurombe said of signing with Gonzaga "From everything that I had heard about Gonzaga before I went on my visit, it sounded like a great place for me. When I got there and saw the campus and facilities, I knew it was exactly where I wanted to be. The school is a little bit smaller than some huge universities which I like and the community and all of the people were very nice which made it feel just like Liberal." When asked what he would miss most about Seward, Saurombe said 'I will take so many things from my two years at Seward with me for the rest of my life. Once a Saint always a Saint" he finished his interview with.
Lopez, a 2014 ITA All-American for the Lady Saints signs to play at the University of West Florida in Fort Myers, Florida. Lopez will finish her career as the most accomplished Seward player of all time after posting over 100 career wins in her two seasons in Liberal. She was the ITA Rookie of the Year as a freshman last season and is 55-3 this season with two of her three losses coming in the ITA National Championship match in doubles and semifinal match in singles. She is currently ranked 7th nationally in singles and 2nd in doubles and won the Region VI Championship at both #1 singles and #1 doubles this season to head into the NJCAA National Tournament with a 27-1 record this Spring. She will join a West Florida team coming off of another strong season in 2015. The Argos are currently ranked 4th in the latest ITA National Rankings and are 25-3 on the season. West Florida cruised to a Gulf South Conference Championship this season with a perfect 10-0 record and swept through the conference tournament without losing a single match to claim that title as well. Lopez said of signing with West Florida "Ever since I came to Seward, my dream was to sign at West Florida. I was worried for a while because I hadn't heard from the coach, but when he called and offered me the scholarship, I couldn't have been more happy." Although he dream came true to go to Fort Myers, she acknowledged it couldn't have happed without Seward County, saying "The support that I got here at Seward was amazing. The coaches, my teammates, my teachers, the administration helped me to accomplish everything that I wanted to, now all that is left is to win a National Championship."
Coyos, also a 2014 ITA All-American for Seward, will join Lopez on the Gulf Coast of Florida at West Florida. Coyos is having the finest season in school history as she enters the NJCAA National Tournament next week with a perfect 28-0 record on the season. She won the Region VI Championship in #2 singles and #1 doubles nearly uncontested last weekend in Arkansas City and has posted a 49-4 combined overall record this school year. She is currently ranked 16th nationally in singles and 2nd in the doubles rankings. Coyos is 103-11 in her career at Seward County, the most wins of any player in program history, one win better than Lopez's 102 career victories. She was named the 2014 ITA Player to Watch after finishing in the top five at the NJCAA National Tournament in #2 singles and #1 doubles. Like Lopez, she will join the top five ranked Argos squad next season. West Florida won its 15th Gulf South Conference Championship in 2015, going undefeated in conference play. Coyos should have a chance to come in and compete for a spot right away as the Argos graduate five players off of their 2015 squad. On signing at West Florida Coyos said "Pauli (Lopez) and I both really wanted to go to West Florida ever since we played there for Nationals last year. I am very excited that I am going to be able to play for a great program along with Pauli." Coyos was emotional when talking about her memories of Seward saying "I am really going to miss this place. I came here not knowing English and really struggling with a lot of things including class. The teachers and everyone helped me through the tough times and now I have all of these great things to thank them for."
The Lady Saints will open their play at the NJCAA National Tournament on Monday in Tucson, Arizona while the Saints will hit the courts one week later in Plano, Texas.