At one point in her life, Kamryn Rodriguez though she wanted to be a band director.
But everybody kept telling her that she had a lot of potential in tennis, if she would only apply herself.
She took the advice about tennis and it certainly paid off as the Newton County senior signed to play at Jones College last week.
Rodriguez is the latest in a long line of Newton County players to sign and play junior college tennis. Her sister, Kenndy, just finished playing two years at Meridian Community College.
“I think she kind of had her heart set on going there for a while,” Newton County tennis coach Chad Bond said. “The coaches had done a good job recruiting her and I think she had been leaning that way for a while. It didn’t surprise me when she finally decided to sign. It’s a big step and it’s understandable that you don’t want to just jump in.”
Bond said that Rodriguez has taken great strides in the last three years.
“She has come a long way since she decided to get serious about tennis,” Bond said. “Until then, she was just out there because that’s what her family did. She tried some other things but once she got serious about tennis, she was in it 100 percent. Once she decided to go the tennis route, she spent a ton of time on the court.”
Bond said Rodriguez had to step up this year and take on an expanded role with a young team on the courts.
“She helped us win several matches and was able to step up and be a leader on the team for us,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of the young girls looked to her for leadership this year. She got the team captain award and was very deserving of that award.”
Rodriguez said Jones was an easy choice for her, despite the fact that several other junior colleges were pursuing her.
“It was a tough decision and there were a lot of schools,” Rodriguez said. “But when I visited the campus and met with the team and considered everything about it, it was just a homey feel and that’s where I wanted to be. It’s a beautiful campus. And after meeting the team and hanging out with them, I just felt like that was the place for me. That was something the other colleges didn’t have.”
Rodriguez was also recently named the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-star tennis team, along with teammates Daylon Nance and Alana McMullan.
“Her season and her career spoke for itself,” Bond said. “I think it was a fairly easy choice. It’s a select group of players. We have been very fortunate over the years to have our kids selected to play. It’s a big honor.”
Rodriguez said she wants to go into veterinary medicine after playing tennis and possibly attend either Mississippi State or Louisiana State.
