The usual student-athlete at Pima Community College is usually in their early 20s at the oldest.
But Lien Nguyen doesn’t fit the usual mold.
Nguyen is a 43-year-old married mother of a 6-year-old daughter who moved to Tucson two years ago from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Nguyen and the rest of the Pima women’s tennis team are tied for the No. 1 seed entering the NJCAA Division I Region I Tournament, taking place in Glendale on Tuesday and Wednesday. The men’s team also will compete in the Region I tourney.
After Nguyen moved to the Old Pueblo with her husband, Dustin Luong, and infant daughter, she enrolled at Pima.
“I just want to go to learn English, ESL, and I heard Pima is a good school,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen, who started playing tennis 10 years ago, also found the local tennis tournament scene and started playing the sport again.
Ian Esquer was named the new head coach for Pima’s tennis team prior to the 2016 season. He had three players when he joined the program, so he was in desperate need to recruit.
Then a friend of Esquer’s asked the new coach if he was still looking for players. He was playing mixed doubles with Nguyen in league tournaments and thought she would be perfect for Esquer’s new team.
Upon meeting, Nguyen told Esquer she was already taking classes at Pima and would love to continue playing tennis. So, Esquer asked her to join the team for practice, and the rest was history.
“She was a little afraid at the beginning because she thinks she’s not young, but I think she’s very young,” Esquer said. “She’s athletic and fit and she’s a good fit for the team. She’s done great.”
In her first season as an Aztec, Nguyen filled the No. 3 spot and played until the last day of nationals in both singles and doubles.
This year, Nguyen is playing at No. 4, but Esquer said she’s playing just as strong.
Janine Fernando is also in her second season at Pima, and found she could relate to Nguyen. Fernando, a Sabino graduate, was born in the Philippines.
Even though Fernando moved with her family at a young age while Nguyen came over in her early 40s, Fernando said Nguyen is just like any other teammate.
“She’s really fun to be around and she’s a good teammate,” Fernando said. “She gives me great advice.”
Nguyen said she really likes her team and coach, and has learned a lot from them — especially English.
She hopes to have a strong performance at regionals, and possibly nationals.
And Esquer hopes the team’s and Nguyen’s success can help him help her even more. His plan is to get her a scholarship to a four-year university so she can continue playing at the collegiate level.
“She’s a great person,” Esquer said. “She works very hard. She has a family and she still wants to play more. I would like to find somewhere where she could find a scholarship and keep playing.”
