Tatiana Velasquez and David Nass were both taking some risks when she joined the NCCU women’s tennis program four years ago.
Velasquez, because she was going 2,200 miles from her home in Cali, Colombia, to a country where she didn’t know anyone and didn’t speak the language.
And Nass, because the coach was giving a scholarship to a female player from outside the country, much less the first team member who was not African-American. And if his information was right, she would immediately occupy the No. 1 singles spot.
The move definitely turned out to be worth the risk from both perspectives.
Velazquez, because she’ll be an honor student walking in Saturday’s graduation ceremonies at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium – albeit on crutches because of a jet-ski accident at Myrtle Beach after classes ended.
And Nass, because his recruit turned out to be a primary building block for a program that will be ready to make a run at the top of the MEAC when the Eagles are eligible for the title for the first time next spring.
“I knew from having done my homework on her that she was No. 1 a good tennis player, and we needed that from her because we didn’t have any scholarship players of any significance,” Nass said of Velasquez. “We also gave a scholarship to Ashley Rogers, whose parents are alumni, and those two young ladies were the foundation point for this program.
“We had people from the Division II period that we had to teach how to play tennis, so they became the No. 1 doubles team. She and Ashley became good friends and roommates, and they helped legitimize us as a Division I program.”
Velasquez said it was a tough journey not only to get to NCCU, but to be a successful student and varsity athlete in her first year here.
“When I first came I could barely speak English, just the basic words, but I could read it and understand it,” she explained. “I did well enough on the SATs to apply for colleges. Before I came I had a scholarship for Jacksonville and my visa was denied. I had some other offers too. There were schools in Alabama and Ohio and Oklahoma.
“But Coach Nass made the process so easy for me. And the whole admissions process, he had a way to make it happen. I liked that it’s located in a great place near the Research Triangle Park, and could help me fulfill my dream of attending medical school.”
Velasquez made a huge splash during her first season, finishing one game over .500 while sharing the No. 1 spot with classmate Rogers.
“Out of all my seasons my first season was the best - the fact that I could do so well in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions was great,” she explained. “I had a big win at Western Carolina, and the girl I beat was a senior and she was very upset about it. I understood how hard she was trying, but I wanted to finish with a winning record and that win allowed me to do so.”
Nass said he knew for sure he had something special as Velasquez’ rookie season progressed.
“Tati won nine or 10 times as a freshman at No. 1,” the coach explained. “As a senior, she’s been playing in spots four, five and six because we’ve been able to add strength. Her last match this season was at Western Carolina (in a 6-1 NCCU victory) and she won again.”
This year she was no longer the Eagles’ best player but it wasn’t because she didn’t improve, instead only because Nass brought in even better recruits.
This season’s Eagles finished 11-12 and went 8-1 against competition from the MEAC. And they’re doing it with one of the most diverse sports teams in the world, with two Colombians, two Swedes and a Ukrainian joining a pair of talented in-state African-American players.
For Velasquez the tennis may have been fun, but it has only been a means to her eventual goal of becoming a doctor. Majoring in biology with a concentration in chemistry and pre-med, she finished with a 3.8 grade point average, including a 4.0 GPA in her final semester.
Medical school will wait another year, but during the 2012-13 academic year she will work in a master’s program in biology at NCCU on a full academic scholarship.
“I want to go to Duke and become a neurosurgeon,” she explained. “If I get into medical school I want to transfer. If I don’t I will finish the master’s program. I’m glad I’ve gotten to know so many people in the biology department and get their support.”
As so many NCCU student-athletes have followed founder Dr. James E. Shepard’s charge to service in the local African-American community, so has Velasquez become a leader with local Hispanics.
“I worked with Hispanic people when I was working in neurology at Duke after my sophomore year,” explained Velazquez, whose parents run their own chemical business in Colombia. “All the connections I had with the Hispanic community allowed me to see what they were facing. After that I noticed a lack of understanding of a lot of things in the Hispanic community. They weren’t aware of the medical services sometimes.
“Ever since, I have been doing work with them to create awareness of what medical services are available. I think the young girls may have looked at me as a role model in the academic aspect. I’m trying to pursue a career in medicine, and they can see how I was successful academically even though I was spending all that time with the tennis team. It was important for them to see they could to both and do both well.”
Among Velasquez’ many initiatives during her academic career, she has worked signing up patients for clinical trials and research projects to investigate environmental and genetic factors that influence the higher pre-disposition of Alzheimer's disease in Hispanics and African-Americans. She has also designed a poster to raise awareness of medical services available in the Hispanic community, which was presented at an international conference.
Nass said he can’t see anything but the sky as the limit for Velasquez’ career.
“Tati is remarkably determined, sometimes stubborn,” Nass said. “There were times when she was so determined to accomplish something she would bang her head against the wall. I know her goal is to get to medical school more than anything else. She has dreamed about that since she was 11 or 12 years old. They accept very few international students, but she has a positive power that I recognize as unusual.”
NCCU Eagles Insider Mike Potter is an award-winning journalist with more than two decades of experience covering North Carolina Central University.
