Many students from all around the world make the decision to begin their international journeys at N.C. State University. This is especially evident among many of the varsity sports and the student athletes which comprise them. The men’s tennis team is no exception. Sophomore Rafael Paez, who is from Atibaia, Brazil, chose to join the Wolfpack because of the rare opportunities it offered him.
“When I came here for my recruiting trip, this was the best choice I had,” Paez said. “I came here specifically because I wanted to major in engineering and I heard they had a good engineering program. I have the chance to study at a really good school and study engineering while playing tennis. There are not a lot of other places you can do that at and still play at a good level, especially in Brazil. Also, the coach was a really nice guy. That was something that made me choose here, too.”
That coach, Jon Choboy, discovered a mutual respect upon meeting Paez, who he said he found through a contact in Brazil.
“Periodically we host visits for other kids we’ve gained contact with through our guy in Brazil,” Choboy said. “It helps kids find good matches for them, academic-wise and tennis-wise.”
Choboy, in his second season of coaching Paez, has noticed a definite improvement in the Brazilian’s style of play and physical presence on the court.
“He’s a tough kid,” Choboy said. “He competes really hard and he’s getting a lot better. He’s not really a big kid but he’s physically strong. He’s got a power base and he does a good job defending it back. He’s got a good intelligence about him; he recognizes the things he needs to do to get better and he just works hard to get there. I’ve got a lot of respect for him; we all do.”
Paez began playing tennis at the young age of nine and immediately fell in love with the sport.
“My brothers used to play and then I got interested,” Paez said. “After that, we started to take classes.”
Like many athletes, Paez grew up playing many different sports before he found the one he truly loved the most.
“When I was little, I pretty much enjoyed playing all sports,” Paez said. “I really liked soccer, volleyball, and basketball. I always played soccer before I started playing tennis. I played both until around 10 or 11 when I decided that I liked tennis better and stuck with it.”
Considering how popular the sport of soccer is in Brazil and the many international star athletes produced in the country every year, it is no surprise that Paez’s love for the ‘beautiful game’ continues through his fan-hood of the Brazilian soccer club of Sao Paolo. There’s a lot more to Paez than just his love for sports, however. He loves the same sort of things that all people his age enjoy.
“In my free time, I like to watch movies a lot,” Paez said. “I don’t really have a favorite style of music but I like a lot of international rock. One of my favorite bands is Red Hot Chili Peppers. I even like some more heavy rock, like Iron Maiden or Metallica. I’ve noticed they listen to a lot of rap here. In Brazil they don’t really listen to it.”
Before heading out onto the court, many athletes have many different things they like to do to get into the “zone.” Paez likes to remove himself from everyone else in order to concentrate on his task at hand.
“I like to be quiet,” Paez said. “I don’t really like to talk a lot or have conversations. They are distractions. I like to really focus and try to think of what I’m about to do and get motivated. I just focus.”
Even though he is very serious on the court, Paez has a sense of humor that has not gone unnoticed by his teammates or Choboy.
“He’s got one of the better senses of humor on the team,” Choboy said. “When we’re on the road and grabbing dinner or something, he’ll have a lot of stories and different things he talks about which are funny. He’s a very nice kid from a very nice family. He was well-raised. He’s very polite and hardworking; a real team player.”
Paez shared one of these stories which involved a case of accidental theft on campus.
“I was just at the Atrium to get some food,” Paez said. “I got my sandwich and waffle fries. I gave her my ID and she gave it back to me. When I left, I took another sandwich from a girl behind me without thinking about it. She was like ‘that’s mine’ but I didn’t realize what she was saying. When I finally noticed, I had already left the Atrium and had two sandwiches in my hand. I had to run back and give her the sandwich back. I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was doing.”
Paez has helped the Wolfpack thus far in the season to an 8-6 record and will make his next appearance Friday at an away match against Georgia Tech at Pullen Park.
