The transition from high school to college is an experience we all share here at N.C. State. For some, however, it is far more daunting of a task than for others. Ivan Sanchez Gomez, a freshman from Madrid, joined the Wolfpack last fall as one of the new, up and coming members of the men’s tennis team – without knowing a bit of English.
To make matters slightly more complicated, on top of preparing for ACC tennis and immersing himself in a foreign environment, he decided to take on an engineering curriculum. Fellow teammate Dave Thomson admires the work ethic that Gomez has shown.
“I have a lot of respect for the guy,” Thomson, a sophomore, said. “To be from another country, come to America while not knowing the language, and to try to pick up school and being an engineering major while trying to keep up without knowing the language. I don’t think I can imagine going to Spain, picking up a textbook, and trying to learn the language just to keep up with the studies, especially with engineering.”
Gomez discovered the game of tennis at the young age of eight. From there, he quickly moved his way into tournaments and onto club teams and eventually began representing his nation of Spain in competition. Through contact with a fellow Spaniard already on the team, Jaime Pulgar, Gomez found himself in contact with the coaching staff and quickly became interested in joining the N.C. State community. Coach Jon Choboy immediately recognized Gomez’ competitive nature.
“He loves competing and he does it well,” Choboy said. “It took 6-7 months to get to know him but what we noticed about him right away is his love to compete. He loves to go out there and he loves tough matches. He practices hard but he plays harder; he’s a different person when he competes. He goes up a notch or two in terms of intensity and energy. He’s a predator.
Although he has not yet mastered doubles play, Gomez has proven to be very solid in singles matches, with a 9-3 record so far this season, which has solidified himself a regular spot in the 5th and 6th positions. Thomson talked about the depth given to the team by Gomez’ performance in the final positions.
“He’s a really strong six,” Thomson said. “He doesn’t lose that much. Coming to the ACC and knowing you’ve got that kind of strength at the back of the lineup really holds true for the rest of the team; it’s really helpful.
“We now have strength in our lineup. It’s a big difference knowing you don’t have to look to the first few spots for the wins and knowing you have a chance in every single spot.”
Choboy analyzed Gomez’ style of play with great scrutiny.
“He’s played a pretty much baseline game,” Choboy said. “He’s doing a lot of running left and right. He’s got a lot of long points. As we develop more weapons in his game, he’ll come forward a lot more. He plays a very physical style of the game.”
Surprisingly, one of the best aspects of Gomez’ skills is also one of the hardest to master in the game of tennis – passing shots.
“He probably has the best passing shot on the team,” Choboy said. “That’s a pretty strong skill and he does it on a higher level than anyone else. If he gets one look at the passing shot, you’re in trouble. He really seems to have a knack for passing people. Even on the run, in a difficult situation, he does it with ease.”
As for any athlete, no one is perfect. The transition into higher levels of competition is never easy, especially with the competition found in ACC play. Choboy talked about the aspects of Gomez’ game that they are currently involved with in practice.
“What we are working on him right now is his ability to come forward and finish points at the net,” Choboy said. “He has a good serve and he creates a lot of short balls. We’re working on finishing points at the net and getting a little more aggressive in that area.”
The most important thing to Gomez is the privilege to play tennis while simultaneously pursuing a degree.
“I came here because I know it’s very important to have a degree,” Gomez said. “Here I can study and play tennis. At 22, I will have a degree then I want to try to play pro. If that doesn’t work out and I don’t become a professional tennis player, I’ll still have my job and my degree.”
It is way to early to know whether or not Gomez will eventually go pro. What is certain, however, is the anticipation from the coaching staff that Gomez will work his way up and the potential of building the team around him.
“We do see him becoming a leader on this team,” Choboy said. “I can see him being able to move his way forward in the lineup over time, for sure.”
