Talon Talk Ep. 19: "On the Other Side of the Lines" -- Ana Roman Dominguez
1/30/2020 12:30:00 PM | General, Women's Tennis
Nearly a year ago to the day, Ana Roman Dominguez was playing at the one slot against four-year UNF women's tennis player, Rafaela Gomez.
A year later, Roman Dominguez is wearing the Navy and Gray as opposed to the Bulls' Green and Gold since being hired as the UNF women's tennis assistant coach June of 2019.
It's been a successful fall and spring for Roman Dominguez and the Ospreys, but certainly a different one now that she's on the other side of the game.
"It has been a lot of fun," Roman Dominguez said. "It's for sure a transition, but I knew my junior and senior year that I really liked coaching and being on the other side. I think I didn't have any clue on what actually is going on until this year, but it has been good. I like it a lot so far and I'm learning quite a bit."
Roman Dominguez catapulted herself into her current position after a stellar career at USF that was capped off by a memorable senior season. After being the AAC Freshman of the Year and all-conference honoree as a sophomore, the Burgos, Spain, native hit a bit of a lull during her junior campaign after a freak accident on the court, causing a concussion.
"I would be playing okay in practice, but still not doing well," Roman Dominguez said. "And at that moment I didn't know what was going on. I knew tennis wise that I wasn't performing well. But, what I realized later on was that I wasn't myself."
Roman Dominguez would drop to the three slot, finishing the year with a 5-12 record. Five games into her senior year she would already match her junior year win total. They weren't just any wins, as Roman Dominguez defeated the number one player in the nation in LSU's Katarina Jokic.
She would go on to earn a No. 36 singles ranking, earn Woman Athlete of the Year nomination and three AAC Player of the Week honors.
"Senior year was just a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot," Roman Dominguez said. "Thanks to that I'm probably here."
The journey to UNF started long before Tampa, as the homeschooled high schooler from a relatively small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain had to make a life for herself in the states. Roman Dominguez came to the states knowing no English and having no example of a life abroad.
"Everything was really new for me," Roman Dominguez said. "I decided to come here and that's what most internationals do. Just because at home you can not really do both [study and play tennis]. And I liked both too much to just give up one of them."
Today she is still doing both as she pursues her master's degree at UNF while coaching.
This weekend she has the special opportunity to coach against her former teammates as the Ospreys go to USF for a 12 p.m. first serve Sunday.
"I'm just really excited to be honest," Roman Dominguez said. "I want to go there and just do the best we can."
The Osprey women's tennis team heads into Sunday's match with a 3-0 record after sweeping its season-opening home stand.
A year later, Roman Dominguez is wearing the Navy and Gray as opposed to the Bulls' Green and Gold since being hired as the UNF women's tennis assistant coach June of 2019.
It's been a successful fall and spring for Roman Dominguez and the Ospreys, but certainly a different one now that she's on the other side of the game.
"It has been a lot of fun," Roman Dominguez said. "It's for sure a transition, but I knew my junior and senior year that I really liked coaching and being on the other side. I think I didn't have any clue on what actually is going on until this year, but it has been good. I like it a lot so far and I'm learning quite a bit."
Roman Dominguez catapulted herself into her current position after a stellar career at USF that was capped off by a memorable senior season. After being the AAC Freshman of the Year and all-conference honoree as a sophomore, the Burgos, Spain, native hit a bit of a lull during her junior campaign after a freak accident on the court, causing a concussion.
"I would be playing okay in practice, but still not doing well," Roman Dominguez said. "And at that moment I didn't know what was going on. I knew tennis wise that I wasn't performing well. But, what I realized later on was that I wasn't myself."
Roman Dominguez would drop to the three slot, finishing the year with a 5-12 record. Five games into her senior year she would already match her junior year win total. They weren't just any wins, as Roman Dominguez defeated the number one player in the nation in LSU's Katarina Jokic.
She would go on to earn a No. 36 singles ranking, earn Woman Athlete of the Year nomination and three AAC Player of the Week honors.
"Senior year was just a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot," Roman Dominguez said. "Thanks to that I'm probably here."
The journey to UNF started long before Tampa, as the homeschooled high schooler from a relatively small town in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain had to make a life for herself in the states. Roman Dominguez came to the states knowing no English and having no example of a life abroad.
"Everything was really new for me," Roman Dominguez said. "I decided to come here and that's what most internationals do. Just because at home you can not really do both [study and play tennis]. And I liked both too much to just give up one of them."
Today she is still doing both as she pursues her master's degree at UNF while coaching.
This weekend she has the special opportunity to coach against her former teammates as the Ospreys go to USF for a 12 p.m. first serve Sunday.
"I'm just really excited to be honest," Roman Dominguez said. "I want to go there and just do the best we can."
The Osprey women's tennis team heads into Sunday's match with a 3-0 record after sweeping its season-opening home stand.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
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