By Kane McGuire (LA Tech Athletic Communications)
I opened my rarely used WhatsApp to text Ana Rodrigues, seeing if she had any spare time to swing by my office so I could interview her for a story.
Her reply, “My schedule is tight.”
She wasn’t being dodgy, trying to avoid talking about herself. Instead, she managed to squeeze in a half-hour conversation right after tennis practice plus a visit to the training room and right before scarfing down some food so she can rest up for a doubleheader the next day.
Ana, a native of Montes Claros, Brazil, is a student-athlete at Louisiana Tech University. The athlete part is her being a senior on the Bulldog Tennis squad. The student part is her being a senior majoring in mechanical engineering.
“I enjoyed tennis more than other sports when I was young,” recalled Ana. “I was six when I first picked up a racket. My first tournament I think I was nine. It was a round robin and I lost every single match. I went to the same tournament the next year and won it.
“And I loved math. The math classes were always easier for me. So, when it came to choosing a school, I chose Tech because I wanted to do engineering and they had a very good engineering program.”
Four years running in Ruston, Ana and her bright orange Head Radical racket have been a steady force on the courts.
- Has played at every single spot in the lineup, both singles and doubles
- Has totaled 106 wins (and counting)
- Member of the 50/50 club (50 career singles and doubles victories)
- Won 15 dual doubles matches in 2022, tied for the second most ever by a LA Tech freshman
- Earned CUSA Athlete of the Week honors in 2024 after going undefeated in singles at Hurricane Invite
- Has 37 career dual doubles wins, one shy of cracking the top 10 at LA Tech
- Part of first doubles duo in program history to main Round of 16 main draw at ITA Regionals
Her academic accolades stack up too.
Three-time CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll recipient. CUSA Academic Medalist in 2022. Two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Admittedly, her final year has been the most challenging of all.
“I am currently taking Mechanical Vibrations, the only elective that could fit by tennis schedule. I also have Basic Measurements and Dynamics of Machine Elements.
“It is hard. These past two weeks, I have been waking up at six every day. I do some schoolwork, then go to class. Then I go to practice at one. We have conditioning then two hours of practice. Then sometimes I go to the training room [for treatment]. Then I get home and do more schoolwork, study for an exam or presentation.”
Oh, and there’s also her required senior design project due.
“I had heard that senior year was going to be the toughest mainly because of the senior project. You spend so much time on it. Me and three other people are working with a company called Cleco who produces power. Our project is figuring out how to design a solution to their water flow to keep the machines running at the right temperature.”
When it comes to tennis, she has the responsibility of being a leader (no other teammate has been a Bulldog longer than 14 months). She’s also playing at the top spot in the lineup in both singles and doubles this spring dual season.
“I talk to my classmates, and they’ll talk about how they don’t even play sports and can barely pass the classes. Sometimes I wonder how I’m doing it, “said Ana jokingly yet serious at the same time.
What works for Ana is a day-by-day approach. Try to do work every day so that it doesn’t pile up, which will hopefully limit the stress. Staying on track and on time is mostly done in her head with the occasional reminder on her phone or iPad notes.
Remembering to eat and rest can be a challenge though.
“I try best to leave my Saturday evenings free,” said Ana. “If I only focus on school, tennis, school, tennis, I might go crazy. When I’m stressed, I like to eat good food. Right now, I want sushi, but I am not going to eat that the day before a match. Probably some Italian food today, some carbs.”
If she were back home in Brazil, it would be a steakhouse where the skewers of meat are brought to your table until you say mercy. Or it would be a local cuisine called feijoada, which is a black bean stew with a variety of pork and sometimes some sausage.
The tennis/mechanical engineering life still has about 3-4 months to go.
“I’ll graduate in May,” said Ana who plans to get her master’s in industrial engineering. “I have Machine Element Design, Dynamic Systems, and then I have Project Management and an elective. Hopefully I can find an easy one.
“As far as tennis, I just want to enjoy my time on the court my last year. Try not to have too much pressure. I want to enjoy and leave college tennis with a great experience.”
