MCALLEN — McAllen Memorial senior Agustin Salazar has been around tennis since birth. His father played at Texas-Pan American in 1984 and runs RGV Tennis Academy in McAllen. Both his older brothers played at McAllen Memorial before ultimately taking their game to the collegiate levels.
It was Salazar’s turn to follow in their footsteps by signing a national letter of intent Thursday at McAllen Memorial High School to play tennis at UTRGV next year. UTRGV is a Division I university which competes in the Western Athletic Conference.
“I’m going to get to keep playing the sport I love. I have four or five more years of tennis, so I’m really looking forward to it,” hes aid.
Salazar is a two-time state qualifier and earned a third-place finish in boys singles at the UIL Class 5A state tennis tournament inSan Antonio earlier this week. He also helped lead the Mustangs to multiple individual and team district, area and regional titles during his four years.
“It’s just amazing that I get to leave Memorial on a high note and enter the next level with confidence,” he said.
Mustangs tennis head coach Rhodora Elizondo coached Salazar’s older brothers at Memorial when he was a toddler. She remembers him running around tennis courts dragging around a racket almost taller than him.
“This kid grew up on the tennis court. He really lives for tennis,” she said. “He spends three hours a day at the tennis courts and it’s all he wants to do. That dedication is part of his system and that’s why he’s where he is right now. He put a lot of hard work in.”
He didn’t always believe he’d have the opportunity to play college tennis, however. After spending his junior and senior seasons working on his craft, Salazar saw improvements and realized he had the potential to take his game to the next level.
“This past summer, I really improved a lot and started beating current college players and thought maybe I could make it,” he said.
Salazar is the first local tennis product to sign with UTRGV men’s tennis out of high school since Harlingen South’s Shane Kyral in 2011-12. UTRGV athletics recently announced renovations and upgrades to the Orville Cox Tennis Center, located on the Edinburg campus, which includes new locker rooms, coaches offices, a sports medicine area and more. Salazar said he played there once before when he was about 15-16. Now, he’ll be playing on the same courts while representing UTRGV.
“I’m excited because I’m going to get to experience the new facilities and renovations, and I’ll also be home. I’m comfortablehere,” Salazar said.
