Hard work is paying off for senior Cristobal Ramos Salazar
Full-time civil engineering student and full-time tennis player, senior Cristobal Ramos Salazar might conclude his final season as a Vandal this weekend at the NCAA Tournament against USC.
Cristobal Salazar enjoying practice while getting ready for this weekends match against Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington.
“I’ve been playing for 15 years and I love it,” Ramos Salazar said. “The hardest thing about graduating will not be playing competitively anymore.”
Ramos Salazar came to Idaho from Hermosillo, Mexico. He said he knew coming to Moscow would offer him a better education and more competitive play in tennis.
In high school, Ramos Salazar took all online classes, so coming to the university was a major adjustment for him. He quickly had to learn note-taking and studying skills that weren’t required when he was in high school. But he has pushed through the difficulties of adjustment and will graduate in December with a degree in civil engineering.
After graduating, Ramos Salazar said he hopes to find an engineering job here in the U.S. When he has enough experience under his belt, he wants to start his own company in Mexico so he is able to be with his family.
As far as tennis goes, he does not intend on pursuing a professional career.
“I will still play, but for the fun of it,” Ramos Salazar said. “It’ll be hard to go professional, and I don’t want the fun of the sport ruined.”
Ramos Salazar said his favorite memories as a Vandal have been the experiences he went through with his teammates throughout the years on traveling trips. He said the closeness of the team is his favorite aspect of the men’s tennis team.
“Even when we get a new guy in at the beginning of the year, everyone is very close and welcoming,” Ramos Salazar said. “It’s like a big family. I will miss them.”
He said winning the WAC in 2014 was his most exciting moment. The match was a lot closer than this year’s final match in the Big Sky. It was a 4-3 win over New Mexico St. compared to this year’s 4-2 victory over Northern Arizona.
But despite it being his most exciting moment, Ramos Salazar said he is happy the Vandals made the jump to the Big Sky. He believes it made them better, because it was more competitive for them.
Ramos Salazar has had a successful season this year, having early victories in the fall season tournaments. Throughout the winter, he dominated singles and doubles matches. This spring, he ended his conference season with a 9-2 winning streak.
Now let’s see how he fares at Nationals. The Vandals will take on the No. 8 ranked USC Trojans at 1 p.m. Saturday in Los Angeles.
Wednesday Walton can be reached at [email protected]