by Pat Turner, UTSA Athletics contributing writer
SAN ANTONIO — Miriam Rosell Canudas is in her happy place this tennis season.
The senior from Torello, Spain, has been UTSA's women's top performer during the Roadrunners' 9-8 campaign. She owns a perfect 17-0 record in dual-match singles play, which has enabled her to become UTSA's first player to receive a national ranking from the ITA.
Rosell Canudas is on the top of her game.
She is stronger and showing more endurance. Her confidence level is at an all-time high, but most importantly, she is relaxed and having fun. In a nutshell, that's made the biggest difference on the court in her final campaign as a Roadrunner.
"The year is going well," Rosell Canudas said. "It's exciting to be ranked. At the beginning, it didn't seem possible. Now, I want to stay there so bad. It's hard, but I don't feel any pressure. I am pumped on the court and I get along with my teammates and coaches. Being happy helps. I am enjoying practice and playing matches. All in all, I'm just excited about playing tennis."
Rosell Canudas has enjoyed steady progress during her four years at UTSA.
As a freshman, Rosell Canudas got her introduction to playing NCAA Division I tennis. The competition was fierce and playing in a completely new environment was difficult.
However, she made a smooth transition with an 18-4 singles record, including winning 13 of her final 14 matches, while playing No. 2 singles. That was good enough to earn her second-team All-Conference USA honors.
That first season set the stage for more impressive results.
The following year, Rosell Canudas claimed first-team All-Conference USA accolades with a team-leading 15 singles victories. As a junior, she was a second-team selection after registering 10 wins, including a victory over 119th-ranked Vivienne Kulicke of UTEP. She also teamed with Jacobea Junger for a team-best 13-4 record in doubles play.
Her game improved regularly, but once again, it all came down to finding that comfort zone.
Playing pressure-free tennis was a major accomplishment after the challenges she encountered prior to college.
Rosell Canudas began playing tennis as a 4-year-old. Even in the early stages, she developed a passion and was eager to learn everything she could about the game. As her skills started developing, major strides were made.
While becoming one of the top players in Europe, Rosell Canudas started thinking about playing professionally. She received a tennis scholarship to work toward that goal. However, she learned quickly trying to reach that pinnacle was a constant grind.
The workload increased and matches brought continuous stress. All of a sudden, tennis wasn't as fun as it had been in the past. Eventually, she decided to go a different route after doing serious soul searching.
"I was putting so much pressure on myself," Rosell Canudas said. "There were so many things going on in my head. I knew I had to do well to keep my scholarship. I couldn't play my game anymore because I felt I was playing for other people not me. I wanted to make my coach and everyone happy. It was also a lot of money for my parents and I didn't think I was giving them the results. There were a lot of things making me not want to become professional anymore."
Even under those circumstances, Rosell Canudas wanted to keep playing tennis, but she was also interested in getting a college education. That led her to thinking about playing tennis at the collegiate level, that way she could achieve both goals.
"I never wanted to come to college when I was younger," she said. "Anytime someone told me to think about it, I said, 'no.' I wanted to go professional. When I was 17, I was more mature. I started to see things how they really were. I started looking at other options. Then, I saw pictures of a girl from my town. She was messaging about playing tennis at a school. I said to my parents she seems like she is having fun playing and I thought maybe I should consider that."
Much to her delight, an opportunity came at UTSA.
Coming to the Alamo City was intimidating at the beginning. Not only she was going to a college a long way from home, the language barrier was a concern. Rosell Canudas knew a little bit of English but not enough to feel comfortable speaking it on a regular basis. There was also the challenge of making the grade on the tennis court.
However, she adjusted. Having an older teammate from Spain and another from Columbia made things easier. A big helping hand came from UTSA head coach Erin Scott, who reminded her to relax and have fun.
Rosell Canudas followed that advice, picked up the English language quickly and saw everything fall into place.
"My first year was hard because I didn't know what to expect," said Rosell Canudas, who has two younger teammates — Laura Cabrera and Sonia Madroñal Medina — from Spain. "I didn't know how to speak the language and I didn't know anybody on team. I actually didn't know anybody here and really didn't know anything. I said, 'let's see what happens.' If I don't like it, I'll go back home. If I like it, then I'll stay. My coach understood and she said there was no pressure on me. I had a good freshman year and started having fun again."
Although the fun times have been plentiful, her college career will be coming to a close soon. Realizing the situation, she wants to make the most of it down the final stretch. She hopes to maintain the same consistency on the court and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
"This is my last year," Rosell Canudas said. "I have to do it now or it's not going to happen. It's going to be tough because I am going to be playing against players with higher rankings. I have to keep winning my matches and keep getting better."
The education & human development major also has big plans for the future.
The idea of playing professionally is in the back of her mind, but most of her thoughts are returning to Torello to become a teacher and coach.
For Rosell Canudas, that would be just as rewarding as winning matches on a tennis court.
"I want to go back home," Rosell Canudas said. "I come from a little town where everyone knows each other and are friends. It's just like a family. I want to teach and help other people. I would like to maybe teach English because they don't have a lot of teachers there. I would like to coach tennis and bring what I have learned to younger kids. Being here has helped me. I love being here and will never forget this experience."
