Ryan Sweeney knows a thing or two about sacrifice, as he left his life behind in the U.S. to devote a year to improving his tennis game.

Sweeney, City College’s number one tennis player, is a student at the UCSB. By taking a class at City College, Sweeney was able to dual-enroll, and compete for the Vaqueros this season.

“I really like the atmosphere at SBCC,” said Sweeney. “It’s a much better schedule at the community college level, and I really like the coaching.”

Sweeney grew up in Maryland, and was a multi-sport athlete growing up. It was his freshmen year of high school where he really started to focus on his abilities on the tennis court.

After high school, he aspired to come to Santa Barbara to play tennis, but originally didn’t get in.

He wasn’t going to let his dream of playing tennis in Santa Barbara end there, so he packed up his bags and moved to Sophia Antipolis, France, to attend the ISP Tennis Academy.

At the academy, Sweeney refined his skills on the court, and boosted his overall tennis ranking to secure himself admission to UCSB.

“Taking a year off and going to France was a big step,” he said. “I didn’t know the language or the culture, but I just wanted to improve my game.”

After moving 5000 miles across the world, and devoting so much to the game, Sweeney made vast improvements that have made him the outstanding player he is today.

Sweeney decided that it would be best to play at the City College, because of the excellent coaching, and the opportunity to be the go-to-guy for the Vaqueros.

“Ryan did an excellent job holding down the number one position in both singles and doubles this year,” said head coach Don Lowry. “Every time he walks on the court he will have to plan on playing some one good, but he handles it well.”

The 20 year-old Maryland native is primarily a singles player.

“I love being out there by myself,” Sweeney said. “It takes a lot of mental toughness to be out there as an individual, but I love that rush.”

In addition to his outstanding individual play, Sweeney has developed impeccable chemistry with doubles teammate Zach Moskowitz.

The dynamic duo of Sweeney and Moskowitz have had success all season long in the Western States Conference, and are competing in the Southern California Regional beginning on Thursday. The two hope to help their team earn a bid to the state championships in early May.

“The Southern California Regional will have a very deep field of players,” Lowry said. “Ryan can play with anyone, but he has to stay mentally prepared in order to do well.”

Sweeney battled through a shoulder injury all season long, but didn’t let it slow down his game.

“I wanted to keep playing, so I took a cortisone shot to help my shoulder, and I was able to still compete,” Sweeney said.

City College was lucky to inherit such a talent, and the Gaucho turned Vaquero has made a profound impact on the tennis team throughout the season.