Born in Córdoba, Mexico, in the Mexican State of Veracruz, Rodolfo Jauregui could never have imagined that he might end up playing college tennis in the United States.
But in the winter of January 2013, Jauregui redshirted for the Lobos and began his first semester at UNM.
In the four seasons that followed, Jauregui served the Lobos in nearly every position of the lineup, using his international experience and leadership to bring a different dimension to the team.
For much of his early childhood, Jauregui had only known one sport: soccer. In Mexico, the graduate said, soccer is the most popular sport, played by almost everyone because it is so accessible; all you need is a ball to play.
Jauregui said that that he would play soccer with his friends all the time, but at the age of 12, he switched to tennis to try something new. Incidentally, this decision was also in part made thanks to his neighbor at the time, Santiago Gonzales.
“When I was 12, I switched to tennis to try something different, and I liked it,” Jauregui said. “And I was lucky, because one of my neighbors (Gonzales) was a professional tennis player, and I would always see him practicing and hear about him playing in professional tournaments, and that inspired me.”
A member of a tennis club, Jauregui was first coached by Luis Pilatiña — the same coach who coached Gonzales. Jauregui’s youth career saw him play in state, regional and national tournaments, and by the end of his youth career, he was also participating in International Tennis Federation tournaments.
But as Jauregui was traveling and improving his tennis, he also had to find time to stay on top of his school work.
“My family has always told me that school comes first,” he said. “The schools supported me a lot, because I was missing a lot of days of school. They would give me special assignments, and there were times when I was traveling and missing Thursday and Friday, and then in the next week missing a Friday.”
Jauregui’s initial plan after graduating from high school was to play in professional tournaments. But one of Jauregui’s two club coaches at the time, Alejandro Bragado, was also coaching Nora Quintal, who had played for UNM women’s tennis between 2004 and 2007.
Quintal spoke with Jauregui about her UNM experience, and Jauregui decided to give it a try. Quintal knew the coaches of the men’s team — Alan Dils and Bart Scott — and after scouting Jauregui, they expressed an interest in him.
“They invited me to come to UNM and see the University. They talked to me about the plans for the team, and showed me the teams that they competed against,” Jauregui said. “I really liked the team, and it was all really professional. The guys did an amazing job of involving me.”
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The senior found his first year at UNM to be the most difficult because of the language barrier.
“It was really hard. Sometimes I couldn’t understand what teachers were saying, and instead of taking two hours to write a paper, it would take me a day,” he said. “Thankfully there is a lot of help for student athletes, and it became much easier over time. I learned (English) by being around people and talking to people.”
Jauregui redshirted the 2013 season, but competed from 2014 to 2017. He was an integral part of the 2014 squad that finished first in the Mountain West Conference, and he appeared both in the Conference tournament semi-final (2015) and final (2014). The graduate posted 14 singles wins and 17 doubles wins in the 2017 season.
Jauregui is graduating with a degree in exercise science and is hoping to attend graduate school and possibly coach and play in professional tournaments in the future.
Matthieu Cartron is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s soccer. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cartron_matt.
