ROCKINGHAM — Thursday was a pretty good afternoon for Kevin Campos. The Richmond Senior High School tennis player was recognized on senior day, just hours after he signed his commitment letter to continue playing in college.
In his words, it was the “ending of one chapter, but the start of a new chapter.” There was also a lot of “excitement and good fear” about his future.
As the Raiders’ No. 1 seed, Campos signed his letter of commitment to continue his tennis and academic career at Thiel College, a Division III school located in Greenville, Pa. He was joined by his mother Lucina Campos, Raider head coach Patrick Hope and fellow teammates. Campos became the first RSHS tennis player to sign this school year.
Not only will joining the Tomcats allow him to compete on the court for another four years, but his signing was also a milestone for Campos and his family.
“The entire day I had chills running down my spine,” Campos explained. “This is the first time that anyone in my family is going to a four-year university.
“There was a lot of excitement when I signed,” he added. “I felt like I was leading by example and showing people you don’t have to be the No. 1 player in the conference to be picked up by a college.”
Campos has emerged as the Raiders’ No. 1 tennis player this season, competing with the top players in the region. His solid play over the past couple of seasons for Richmond is what led to Thiel head coach Gabriele Eaborn to reach out to Campos.
The future Tomcat explained Eaborn contacted him through email and text expressing interest in him joining the program.
After discussing his options with his family and Hope, Campos made the 10-hour drive to Thiel last month, which is located near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, about 80 miles north of Pittsburgh.
“Thiel’s program is very structured and it was somewhere I felt I can go to learn and grow educationally and with tennis,” Campos said. “It really felt like home.
“The college has many opportunities and lots of programs,” he added.
There were other colleges in the mix up until his visit to Thiel, and Campos was considering Chowan University and Guilford College. But he said the school’s campus, facilities and coaches made the difference.
“Kevin did a lot of the work to get recognized,” Hope noted. “He took the trip to campus and is officially a part of their program.
“He has worked hard to become our No. 1 player, and has battled with some of the top players in the conference all season,” he added.
Campos won’t take the traditional road to college, as he’ll start during the spring semester instead of in August. He hopes to join the Marines this summer and major in criminal justice at Thiel to pursue a career as a first responder in the military.
He added that he’s excited to live in a “new environment,” seeing how life in Pennsylvania is similar to and different than Richmond County.
When he does suit up for Eaborn and the Tomcats, Campos is setting some big goals for himself.
“I want to make a statement my first year and show them that them emailing me wasn’t a bad decision,” Campos said. “I want to be the team’s No. 1 by my junior year and get a ranking. With Coach Eahorn teaching me and coaching me, I think there’s a good chance I can do that.”
Campos and the Raider tennis team will compete in the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament this week.
