PEDRO NIETO 'S VICTORY

"Where are the tennis courts?"...Seems like a simple question...

"Cary Street, next to the life sciences building"...Seems like a simple response...

"Dónde están los campos de tennis?" Now that is a question of a different sort. Not because it is in Spanish, the native language of former men's tennis standout Pedro Nieto, but more importantly, it is not in the language that he was going to have to live by, day to day, for the next several years. Pedro would soon find out what it takes to live in a new place, speak a new language and survive in a new culture - and he would master it, like every other challenge he has faced in life.

The former number-one singles player for the Rams embarked on his college experience an outsider, unable to fully communicate on his own terms or in his own words. The Seville native had never faced an obstacle of this nature, whether on the tennis court or off. The tennis team would be a saving grace for Pedro, along with his overwhelming desire to become more fluent in English. With a couple of Spanish speaking teammates, Pedro found a place where he could communicate easily, but more importantly learn.

As Nieto continued to dominate on the tennis court, his understanding of the language began to match his tennis ability - confident, strong, bold. Pedro was rolling past his opponents, while breezing through his classes. After two years of competition, the Spaniard had collected 40 singles wins, four All-CAA citations, a league player of the year nod, and a Most Outstanding Performer award from the CAA Championships - all while helping the Rams to their seventh and eighth-straight conference crowns. Impressive? Absolutely - particularly for someone, who was working even harder to be just as successful in the classroom.

Pedro's ardent work ethic became clear as he continually was named to the Dean's List during his six semesters at VCU, while also being named the 2003 CAA Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, selected from a pool of over 3,000 male athletes. Now studying for his MBA - a program in which he currently carries a perfect 4.0 grade point average - Nieto finished his undergraduate degree in Information Systems with an impressive 3.82 GPA.

For Nieto, anything but perfection was unacceptable.