A signing ceremony was held Thursday afternoon at Warren Gym for three Brownwood senior student-athletes continuing their athletic and academic careers, as Lady Lion Victoria Ramos is headed to Howard Payne to play tennis.
“It means a lot because I’m the first one in my family to play a college sport,” Ramos said of continuing her athletic career at the college level. “I wanted to have another four years of tennis and do something that I love. Tennis has helped instill some discipline in me and it’s helped in academics, too.”
Ramos stated she chose HPU despite heavy interest from Schreiner.
“Howard Payne is in my hometown so it’s a little less expensive, but also because I like the community over there, they have smaller classes so I could get help if I needed it, and the Christian values they hold over there, I really like it. Howard Payne also holds a special place in my heart because my sisters also went there, and I really like the tennis program there.”
Brownwood athletic director Sammy Burnett spoke at the ceremony and said of Ramos, “I didn’t make all the tennis matches, but the ones I did I tried to watch Victoria because she may smile and she may not talk much, but when she was on that court she meant business. I can only remember a couple of times when she wasn’t successful in her matches and that was at regional tournaments.”
Brownwood tennis head coach Crystal Blazek added, “I want to thank Victoria for her leadership on and off the court. I’ve been watching you since the seventh grade, I’ve seen you grow. She’s exemplified what BHS tennis should stand for. She puts in the work, she puts in the dedication, she does that in lessons, she does it in camps and every now and then she listened to (assistant) Coach (Dalton) Hutchins and I. She also manages what she does with being a member of band, being a member of NHS and being a member of HOSA and she’s successful at that, too. She’s a great example of what BHS needs here and strives to be in terms of a student-athlete. I’m proud to say I coached you.”
Reflecting on her time at BHS, Ramos said her fondest memories are, “The dynamic with my teammates. I’ve always liked cheering on whoever was on the court with my teammates because we would always get super rowdy and it was really fun.”
Ramos plans to major in biomedical sciences and also attend the Douglas MacArthur Honors Academy.
As for her goals at Howard Payne, Ramos said, “I definitely want to succeed in my classes, that’s my first goal. After that, I would like to be really successful in tennis and play in one of the top three spots in singles and make an impact, and as the years follow I want to show improvement.”