Mae Coyiuto excels in tennis and studies in California

Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.  — Dan Gable

It is not so common for students in college or high school to do equally well in sports and academic studies, with achievers in one field often lagging behind or at best doing average in the other field.

An exception to the stereotype of student athletes not exceling in studies is PBA player and GMA 7 host Chris Tiu. He did well as Ateneo college student of management engineering and Chinese studies, while also playing in the basketball varsity team.

One outstanding example of a college freshman student efficiently juggling sports and academics well with discipline and good time management is Philippine STAR Young Star columnist and children’s book author, the 18-year-old Samantha Mae T. Coyiuto. By the age of 16, she already had four published children’s books.

Mae is now studying in California’s 124-year-old Pomona College, ranked one of America’s top 10 colleges by Forbes magazine. The latest 2013 annual ranking of U.S. News & World Report also described Pomona as “most selective” and ranks it tied for the fourth best liberal arts college in the United States (and fifth for “Best Value”).

On May 13 in tennis news, it was reported: “Jamie Solomon and Mae Coyiuto were part of another big comeback in the NCAA Regional finals against undefeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, as they came back from a 7-4 deficit to take a 9-7 win at No. 2 doubles to give the Sagehens a 2-1 lead going into singles. Solomon and Coyiuto only played doubles together once all year, but Coyiuto was called into duty to fill in for an injured teammate and responded with a big comeback.”

Local California media like the Daily Bulletin reported: “The Sagehens (15-7) led 2-1 after doubles, thanks to a dramatic 9-7 win by Mae Coyiuto and Jamie Solomon, who trailed 7-4.”

Just a week before that comeback win in tennis, Mae Coyiuto was cited by the prestigious Los Angeles Times in a May 7 article, entitled “Tennis and writing a love match for Pomona-Pitzer freshman” by Diane Pucin. The report said: “She plays for the women’s tennis team, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division III.”

Children’s books and promoting reading

On the website of Pomona College, it says: “Not only is Coyiuto one of the top players on the Sagehens at No. 2 singles, but she is also a published author and has started a non-profit that is helping to build libraries in her native Philippines.”

Even while in high school in the Philippines, she was a gold medalist in the National Capital Region (NCR) Regional Palarong Pambansa in 2011, won the Head Junior Tennis Tour National Satellite Circuit, and the Milo Tecnifibre National Tournament (Girls Singles 18 and Under) in 2011 and 2012, and others.

Graduating among the top four in her class, she received writing awards in school. More significant, she created the “Are You READy?” foundation that aims to promote literacy in the Philippines with its first project “Gintong Isip (Golden Minds),” a tie-up with Habitat for Humanity, which put up libraries in different areas in the Philippines.

Why did Mae choose Pomona College? She said:  “A big factor for me was the small class size and the fact that the professors really give their attention to each of the students. I like the fact that it’s also part of a consortium and that we can take classes in any of the 5Cs. I think that the liberal arts education that one gets in Pomona can lead one to excel in any field in the outside world. Plus, I love the fact that I can play tennis in every season of the year here and the sun is always shining here in California.”

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