Sharyland High’s Alan Gonzalez spent two years playing UIL tennis as a Rattlers competitor, and in that time he won two silver medals in singles at the Class 5A state tournament.
Gonzalez begins his next chapter in his tennis career at St. Francis (Pennsylvania) in the fall. Gonzalez signed to play for NCAA Division I tennis team on Tuesday at Sharyland High.
“This was one of my dreams since I was a kid,” Gonzalez said. “Seeing my sister play tennis in college motivated me to keep playing and working harder. I feel pretty blessed and excited for the opportunity that coach Eric Hovan gave to me.”
Gonzalez’s sister, Maria Gonzalez, played tennis at Sacramento State and joined UTRGV’s women’s tennis program as a volunteer assistant coach in December 2022.
Gonzalez played in Mexico before arriving at Sharyland High. The Monterrey native was once the No. 1-ranked tennis player in Mexico in his age group as a 14-year-old, he said. Prior to coming to Sharyland High, Gonzalez was rated as a top five player.
The now-Division I athlete spent time playing in international tournaments in the fall and winter instead of team tennis. Gonzalez competed in Tampico, Guadalajara and Cancun. Gonzalez went on to go undefeated in all spring tournaments then district and regionals. Gonzalez’s only loss in the spring came in the state final.
Gonzalez lost to Fort Bend Kempner’s Noey Do 6-2, 7-6(4) after not dropping a set his other two matches to set up the final.
“He was consistent and played a pretty good outside shot the whole game,” Gonzalez said. “Not mad at all that I lost. I could have done a lot of things better. It is what it is. I was just happy to get out there again because I could have lost in the previous round.”
The two-time state silver medalist has visited the campus in the small town of Loretto, Pennsylvania, where he plans on studying finance. A little more than 1,000 people live in the university town.
“It is a quiet environment,” Gonzalez said. “When you go there, you know you are going to be focused on what you are doing. That is why I like it.”