High Schools have started and colleges and universities are going through the process of kicking off classes in the next few days or weeks. I thought it would be a good night to write about another former player that was at FSC when I arrived. There were so many players from such diverse backgrounds and they shaped me in many positive ways. Ray Duyungan was definitely one of those players. Not so much for his on-court prowess but more of his electric personality.
When I arrived on campus Ray was an eager sophomore. He had made it through a rough freshman year with the previous coach. He was not one of the top players but with a new coach he had a fresh lease on his tennis life. Ray was a Florida boy with a strong Philippine heritage. His Florida, beach boy, good time heritage was even stronger. He had been a good Florida junior but when he hit the buzz saw that is tough DII tennis it slowed drastically. This can be a fairly substantial deterrent for pushing that extra mile. Ray enjoyed being on the team, the camaraderie of his teammates, and being the life of any party. Even if he created the party himself.
The day I came on campus I set a standard that would become one of my proudest during my tenure at FSC. During the first meeting with the team I advised them that not one player would make under a 3.0 and that we would be an Academic All-American Team from year one to the end of my time at FSC. I also had the goal that every player would accomplish a 3.5 GPA. Even though I knew this would be difficult for some players I felt that it was a goal that would help them more than any level of tennis they obtained while playing at FSC. Ray was the first player to come to me with panic in his eyes. His freshman year he had only achieved a 2.8 GPA and wasn’t sure that he could achieve what I wanted. We talked and I assured him in my caring way that he could or he wouldn’t play. You see, if a player did not make at least a 3.0 that player would be suspended to start the following semester. If a player really cares about his tennis this was a great tool. Also, peer pressure is an amazing thing. Most of the athletes on the team did not have a problem with this. We had as many as half of each roster as 4.0’s. This motivation would become a great catalyst for Ray’s academic turnaround.
As Ray worked towards improving his grades the one thing he dominated was his night life and his ability to give others nicknames. I was not a huge stickler for rules when it came to going out because being good requires a certain level of self-discipline and a good bit of self-control. Ray went hard when he went and between his teammates and fraternity brothers he had an audience ready to go. When Ray did get the opportunity to play he had the biggest crowd. His fraternity brothers would walk by the courts, stop, and cheer whenever they felt like it was appropriate. Many times, it wasn’t the appropriate time. I didn’t care. I loved the support for the team and it made an incredible atmosphere for the guys to compete within. When Ray went out he would tout the blackout drunk nights and then role into practice as about half the man he could have been. There was one hot spring day that we were having quite an intense practice and Ray was trying to hang in the best he could. It didn’t take long and he was back at the fence ridding himself of the prior nights concoctions. He had those moments but he was always there. He had realized in his own way that his gift to the team was not going to be in the line-up but as a supporting role. He also started giving players nicknames, that to this day still stick. He created “Ronald McDonald”, “Big F@@@”, “Coachie”, and many more. These endearing terms had staying power and when I think of the guys these days, I still think of those names and the fun times we had with them.
Ray matured and got his stuff together. His GPA at graduation was right around a 3.4 if I remember correctly. He had made the dean’s list multiple times and went to Washington State University for grad school. He still parties, although not as much, and he is still witty as ever. He was a good player but an even better person. Although success wasn’t always found on the court he was able to parlay the discipline he did learn and use it in other ways. He currently works in logistics and has just recently moved back to Florida. He was influential and was mostly a positive influence on those that came after him. He created the ability for other players to enjoy Greek life and compete as an athlete while at FSC. He had one meeting with the AD but because he was proactive he had a great experience even though the incident could have caused him grief. He had a violation in the dorms and one of my rules was to meet with the AD before you were called to meet with him. He walked in, the AD asked him if he did it, he said yes, and the AD gave him this advice. “You are 21. Take it off campus and don’t be stupid.” He never had another problem. A valuable lesson was learned that day. Get out in front of the thing that can trip you up and there is always potential for you to catch yourself before you fall. Thanks to Ray we all learned a valuable lesson to be used at other times by our team.
I enjoyed Ray as a human and it will be unlikely that there is ever another one like him. Thanks to him I have words that are engrained in my brain and conversations that will never be put on paper. Between his funky tennis grips, his perspectives on life and parties, and his growth from sophomore to senior he proved that if you keep digging and find a goal that is worth it there is always a chance.
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