Senior Andres Campos felt his right knee pop, and he knew immediately it meant he had another dislocation.
It was the start of the season as Campos and his mixed doubles partner junior Scarlett Perez had their goals set high. They were district runner-ups a season earlier.
“I was inside at the gym, running some drills, and I went for a step doing a running drill…I felt my knee pop, the pop again, but I felt it worse than last time,” Campos said. “I couldn’t really walk for a good week and a half. I was out for a month and a half.”
Perez kept working and competing as she waited for Campos to heal from dislocating his right patella.
“We were both determined for him to come back,” Perez said. “We both had a fear that he wasn’t going to recover 100%.”
After weeks of rehab and careful training, Campos made it back on the court with Perez.
The two reached the finals in mixed doubles at the district meet, finishing runner-up to teammates Jaylen Macapaz and Julia Tristan. All four advanced to regionals, which will be held April 17-18 at A&M Consolidated.
Campos didn’t grow up an avid tennis player. The very fact he played high school tennis was a chance event.
“I had nothing else to do and Coach Macapaz gave me a chance to join, so I took it,” Campos said.
Little did he know how much that decision would change his life. Over the next two years, Campos continued improving until his junior year when he first dislocated his patella two matches before districts.
“We had no idea if he was even gonna be able to play district, because of how late that injury was in the season,” Macapaz said. “Thankfully, he was able to rehab, recover and play in districts.”
Despite the challenges of his injury, Campos and Perez reached the mixed doubles title match. They felt confident they could have gone further if Campos was healthier.
“If it wasn’t for that, I think we could have been district champ and gone on a deeper run at regional,” Campos said.
Now, Perez and Campos return to regionals with the hope of making their final season together their best.
“I’m trying to push for him because I want his last match to be a good match,” Perez said.
Campos is not 100 percent healthy even four and a half months after dislocating his patella, but he is determined to push through the pain.
“It took me a lot more to recover,” Campos said. “To this day, I always have to go to the trainer because it hurts every time I play.”
Macapaz has seen Campos play through pain at different points the past two years.
“Mentally you could tell that it was impacting him drastically,” Macapaz said. “In his head, he’s thinking, worst-case scenario, senior year – ‘What if I can’t play? I don’t want to go out this way.’”
Campos is ready for the challenges this weekend. The tennis team has nine region qualifiers each pushing for the opportunity to be the first tennis state qualifiers in school history.
“I feel great,” Campos said. “My focus is playing the best I can – put it all on the court. It could be my last tournament or it could be making history. I just want to put it all on the court and do the best I can.”
