BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Pablo Espinosa was training as a gymnast about three months before the start of his ninth-grade year. On a lazy summer day, he flipped through the channels on his television and came across something that grabbed his attention almost immediately.
“I don’t remember what match it was, but I saw tennis on TV, and I wanted to try it,” Espinosa said. “Just like that, I started playing.”
Espinosa proved his worth on the court quickly. All he needed were those three months to make McAllen Rowe’s varsity club as a freshman.
“I always thought Pablo had potential, because he has grit and a competitive nature,” McAllen Rowe coach Bryan Garcia said. “He doesn’t like to lose a single point.”
Espinosa has had an up-and-down career as a Warrior. Competing as a freshman at a level of tennis he hadn’t seen before was not easy. Neither was his sophomore season, during which he spent considerable time off the court due to academic ineligibility.
But Garcia said he has seen the biggest growth from Pablo this year.
“He’s shown maturity with his teammates and his grades,” Garcia said. “He wasn’t able to play districts last year, but he’s worked hard. He’s also fine-tuned his game. He’s volleying better, and he’s stronger, because he trains outside of practice to get to the level that he’s at right now.”
“Definitely my mental game is better,” Espinosa said. “I’m focusing on every point during the match now and not getting frustrated. Everyone knew I needed to work on that. That was my problem. I’m a lot more calm now.”
Espinosa has already reaped the benefits of his sharpened skills and how he carries himself on the court. He and his Warriors teammates traveled up to the ultracompetitive Houston area to participate in the Kemah Varsity Tournament in late March.
His performance shocked a lot of people at the tournament, according to Garcia, because of Espinosa’s third-place finish in the boys singles competition as an unseeded player.
“It gave me a big boost to my confidence,” Espinosa said. “I didn’t know I was good enough to get third place at a tournament that big. It’s surprising to me, because I’ve only played tennis for three years. Other people have played for all of their lives, and I was able to compete with them.”
The confidence boost carried Espinosa into the District 30-6A meet two weeks ago. He advanced to the boys singles title match, losing to Brian Galvan of La Joya Palmview.
“(Brian) Galvan is a very solid player,” Garcia said. “The last time Pablo played him in the McAllen Tournament, they split sets. Up to that point, I hadn’t seen Brian Galvan lose a match yet. Pablo came really close to accomplishing that.”
The second-place finish at the district meet means Espinosa, along with three Rowe teammates, will compete in the UIL Class 6A Region IV tennis meet. The meet will begin today and run through Thursday at the McFarlin Tennis Center in San Antonio.
“We’re blessed to have a strong team this year that finished second overall at districts,” Garcia said. “He’s been a good example for our team. No matter how good he may be, I still need to be his coach and point out the holes in his game that need to be worked on.”
At last, Espinosa will compete in his first regional tennis match. Simply making it to San Antonio, however, isn’t his endgame.
“I know I didn’t have the opportunity to qualify my freshman and sophomore years, even though I tried my best,” Espinosa said. “I don’t want to come in (to regionals) thinking, ‘If I win, I win,’ or ‘If I lose, I lose.’ I want to win.”
“There were some kids that may have been complacent in the past, but I don’t feel that way with Pablo,” Garcia said. “Naturally, he doesn’t like to lose. He tends to play really well when there’s a different crowd and people he doesn’t know are watching.”