Bolivia native women's tennis athlete and Carola Artigas

Former South American star tennis player from Bolivia, Ana Carola Artigas came to Santa Monica College to pursue her dream of playing tennis. A rekindled love for the game brought the eager tennis player back to the court after stepping away for a consecutive number of years.
In time, Artigas decided to give tennis a second shot by playing on the SMC tennis team. Head Coach Richard Goldenson had suggested that Artigas join the SMC tennis team during an off-campus tennis lesson Goldenson conducted.Soon after Artigas joined the SMC tennis team, she now holds a record of 7-3 this semester. Artigas' newfound success launched soon after she was awarded the title of number eight in the entire region of Bolivia, which placed her in the 14th category at the age of 12. Her passion for tennis and her drive started at a young age, where she took several tennis lessons to master and polish her skills. Supported primarily by her parents to continue playing tennis, Artigas has gracefully mastered the sport of tennis. "My parents were always there for me. They were there for all of my games," said Artigas. As an adolescent, Artigas wasn't the only one in her household who was skilled in the game of tennis but her sister Carola was as well. Tennis was certainly an innate sport to both Ana and her older sister. Carola recalls that it was a struggle to keep up with her sister on the court. "My sister was number one in Bolivia," said Carola. This will be Artigas' last year on SMC's tennis team as she plans to transfer to West Palm Beach University in Miami.