By Katrina Kowitz, Staff Writer
There was a day, when senior Ali Mounir was a 12-year-old growing up in Cairo, Egypt, that he might have chosen to pursue soccer instead of tennis.
But he didn’t, and now Mounir, who is studying data analytics at Newman, is the captain of the men’s tennis team here and plays the No. 1 spot.
Mounir said that, as a kid in Cairo, he started out young playing four sports then narrowed it down to two he liked best. At age 12, he realized that he needed to choose between soccer and tennis.
He chose the more difficult route.
“I had a really good chance with soccer because my whole family is a soccer family,” he said. “My mom's cousin is on the club board for the second biggest team in Egypt. So I could have had an easy way there. But I didn't. I picked tennis.”
When it was time to decide on a college, Mounir said, he started thinking about studying in the United States. If he’d stayed in Egypt for college, he said, he would have had to quit tennis because of how hard the academics are.
Mounir had offers from Division I schools, he said, but he chose Newman because of the connection he had with former Coach Shella Augspurger.
Mounir had a strong senior fall season at Newman.
In October, the men’s team swept Sterling College, and Mounir won playing in the No. 1 singles spot. In September, the team faced three opponents at a tournament in Colorado. Mounir and partner sophomore Nicolo Lippolis together won their match playing in the No. 1 doubles spot against Metropolitan State, and Mounir also won his singles match. At the same tournament, Mounir won in No. 1 singles against both Colorado College and Colorado Mesa.
Since coming to Newman as a freshman, Mounir has risen through the tennis team ranks. He started out his freshman year as the No. 4 spot and gradually made his way to the No. 1 spot. In doubles, Mounir has always played the No.1 spot. He won 11 matches in singles and eight matches in doubles during his first year as a Jet.
“I've had really good results against all the top players in the conference,” he said.
One of Mounir’s biggest wins happened during his junior year, when he beat Ouachita Baptist University’s No. 1 singles player, who was ranked 10th in the region at the time.
“I beat him, and it was a great comeback,” Mounir said. “No one expected it, honestly.”
After that match, Mounir became ranked 72nd in the region.
Mounir said he is now looking forward to the tennis team’s spring season.
“Right now, I'm just focused on practicing and getting the right mindset to be ready for the spring,” Mounir said.
PHOTO: Courtesy, Newman Athletics
