STEPHENVILLE – After an unfortunate turn of events left Jemi Aguilar searching for a new home to finish out her collegiate tennis career, the Florida native found it at Tarleton State University and will join the Texans on the court this fall.
Aguilar spent this COVID-19-shortened spring season at the University of Akron – her first with the Zips after transferring from Florida Atlantic. She won three doubles matches with four different partners, including two in the No. 1 flight, before the season ended abruptly in early March. Two months later, Akron announced it would be dropping women’s tennis, among other sports, to reduce athletic finances leaving Aguilar in search of a new home.
“Circumstances come with problems but also with potential for you to decide what to choose. That represents all the obstacles I have had to overcome to get to this moment,” said Aguilar. “Tarleton is giving me an opportunity to complete my degree and be part of a tennis program that is hungry for success. I couldn’t be happier to be part of this moment and help this team be successful right away.”
Prior to her time at Akron, Aguilar was a Division I student-athlete right out of high school after signing with Florida Atlantic. She spent two seasons at FAU and was an All-Conference USA First Team doubles player as a true freshman. She went 13-3 in doubles in her first season and reached a national ITA doubles rank of No. 55 in the spring of 2018.
Aguilar graduated from Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida in the spring of 2017 after leading her varsity team to a state championship.
“I am so excited to welcome Jemi to Tarleton,” said Tarleton head coach Elianne Miron. “She is a fighter on the court. Her attitude and desire to help this program become successful will make her a strong competitor.
“On top of being an excellent student, Jemi is going to be an impact player who will push this program to the next level. It’s going to be an exciting year for Tarleton Tennis,” she added.
Aguilar becomes the seventh member of Tarleton’s inaugural Division I recruiting class. She joins Mihaela Codreanu, Elsa Boisson, Hadley Jones, Martha Makantasi, Rose Watanabe and Kristina McDermott.
Tarleton went 5-5 last spring and will transition to NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2020.
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