RIO HONDO — Kathy Gauna and Lulu Lopez couldn’t wait any longer and wanted to put their futures to rest.
On Friday afternoon at the Rio Hondo High School library, the pair placed pen to paper and signed their letters of intent to play softball at Coastal Bend College in Beeville.
“It’s a huge day for me because I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a freshman,” said Lopez. “My biggest thing was to play (at the college level). For me, but also for my late Aunt Rosie.
“It was a great opportunity for me to take and when I saw the chance, I took it. The first thing I said when I went for the tour around school was, ‘It reminds me of home.’”
For Gauna, it was the proximity to home that sold her on for Coastal Bend College.
“I really liked that it was small and that is was close,” said Gauna. “I really liked the coach and he told me what they do in practice. But for me, I don’t like really like being too far from home.
“I also chose Costal Bend because I liked their law enforcement program.”
Rio Hondo softball head coach Brett Esparza, who got to witness Gauna’s and Lopez’s softball journey from the beginning, saw this as a great opportunity.
“Both players are perfect examples of some of the hardest working players we’ve got,” Esparza said. “I’m really excited that their dreams came to fruition.
“We started this seven years ago when they were just at junior high and that’s all they would talk about back then. The opportunity to do this together is just the icing on the cake for both of them.”
But before the college-bound duo heads off later this fall, Gauna and Lopez will look to lead the Lady Bobcats on the softball field one more time.
Practice is already underway and the Lady Cats open the 2016 regular season on Feb. 18 at the Donna Tournament.
The team’s home opener is on March 4 and will be a District 32-4A contest against Port Isabel.