The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
What it means to be a Longhorn: Sandy (Sureephong) Blanton
08.21.2019 | Women's Tennis, T-Association
Read the sixth in a 14-part series on the Hall of Honor class of 2019.
This is the sixth of a 14-part series celebrating the Hall of Honor class of 2019. In these first-person vignettes, each inductee shares his/her thoughts on 'What it means to be a Longhorn.' Thirteen former University of Texas student-athletes and one former UT System administrator will be inducted on Friday, Aug. 30 into the Hall of Honor. Tickets for the Hall of Honor banquet are available at TexasSports.com/tickets.
Sandy (Sureephong) Blanton Hall of Honor bio
Texas first popped onto my radar when the NCAA Tournament was held in Gainesville, Florida in 1990. I just happened to be playing a tournament there that weekend, so my dad and I went to watch. The Longhorns made it to the semifinals against Stanford, and Stanford was a school that I really wanted to go to at the time because they were the best. They pretty much dominated during that era.
I grew up in Baltimore and we moved down to Florida when I was 10, so I knew very little about Texas. We watched them play in the semis and my dad was really impressed with Texas, the way they were coached and their game style. It kind of opened my eyes to, "Hey, that's a school I might be interested in, too." As time went on, I improved a lot and did really well nationally in tournaments, so by my senior year in high school, I decided to take a year off from school to see how high I would be able to climb in the WTA rankings.
After that year, I decided that I wanted to go to school. I looked at Texas and I really liked what I saw. Number one, there were a lot of Florida girls on the team, with my friend Cristina Moros there and others who had trained in Florida. Not having any family in Texas, being able to go to school and play alongside people I knew would make things easier.
Having taken the time off, I was able to take my visit in the spring while the team was in season instead of the fall, when visits usually happen. Cristina was my host and I had a chance to go to a few classes, see a dual match and just experience the whole team atmosphere. What interested me was college tennis, because tennis is an individual sport and you're playing for yourself. It was fun to see everybody cheering for each other and not everyone for themselves. Add to that the academics at Texas were great and I really liked the coach. I simply loved my recruiting trip and that was it.
Being able to join a close-knit team with a lot of girls I knew made the decision that much easier. My freshman year was my toughest, just making that adjustment. I'd always been away from home, traveling a lot, but never for that long of a time. Everyone with UT always made me feel comfortable. The academic advisors were great and helped me shake off the rust and re-learn how to study and prepare for classes, while also training and competing. It's something I think all student-athletes go through at every school. Texas provided everything that I needed, so I never felt overwhelmed or that I couldn't turn to somebody to help me.
Our team had the potential to win nationals each year, so reaching the Final Four was great and individually getting to the quarterfinals in singles my senior season were great moments. Tennis meant a lot to me, so I put a lot of training in and being able to attain what I did at UT with my friends was special.
I'm very proud of being a Longhorn, it means a lot to me. After my time in Austin, I went to Baton Rouge to coach at LSU. Baton Rouge is similar to Austin, a college town in the state capital. They have so much pride for the school and it reminds me of what it is to be a Longhorn. I bleed burnt orange and I will always be a Longhorn.
