One More Time: Paula Boixader

By Paula Boixader, Women’s Tennis Student-Athlete
 

Georgia Southern women’s tennis senior Paula Boixader led her team from the No. 1 singles spot with 12 singles victories and nine doubles wins when the NCAA and Sun Belt canceled all 2020 spring competition due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. The Barcelona, Spain, native has been a staple in the Eagles’ lineup since coming over to Statesboro from Armstrong State following her freshman year.

Hello! My name is Paula Boixader, I am a senior on the women’s tennis team, and I am from Barcelona, Spain. I arrived at Georgia Southern University in my sophomore year after I transferred from Armstrong State University when the two universities merged.

During the spring of my freshman year, I tore my ACL, and I was not able to finish the season. It was hard knowing that we were losing the University and having to go through an injury like that at the same time. My coach at Armstrong State was Sean McCaffrey. He took over the program at Georgia Southern and subsequently recruited me again to come to Georgia Southern. I immediately said, yes!

Most of my sophomore year, I spent recovering from my ACL surgery, and I was unable to compete until the last half of the spring season. In my junior year, we made it to the final of the conference tournament, upsetting the number 1 seed Appalachian State in the first round and then beating the number 4 seed Texas Arlington in the semifinals.

Having my senior season cut short was very hard and emotional. It was hard to think that my tennis career was over, and I was not going to be able to play again with my best friends next to me. Our coach always says, “Play for each other and most important for the logo on your chest.” This quote means a lot to me. Being able to represent a university like Georgia Southern as a student-athlete is more than I ever could have imagined.

I have grown so much as a person in the past three years since I stepped on Georgia Southern’s campus. I have learned so much, and I have made friendships that will last a lifetime.

I have been able to get a degree while playing the sport that I love, and I am beyond thankful for that. None of this would have been possible without my teammates, my coach, the athletic department, the donors, and all of Eagle Nation. It is impossible to express my thanks and gratitude. I am beyond proud to say that I am a Georgia Southern Eagle forever.

When the NCAA released the decision of giving another year of eligibility to spring student-athletes, I knew I wanted to come back, no matter what it was going to take. I decided to apply for a master’s, and I applied for graduate assistantships. When Coach McCaffrey told me that the Athletics Department was going to be able to fund the fifth-year returning seniors for next year, I was brought to tears.

I know the tennis program is going in the right direction. In the last three years that I was in Georgia Southern, the team improved a lot, not just physically but also mentally. Coach McCaffrey leads the team in a way that motivates everyone to push each other to get better on and off the court to help us reach our goal of winning the conference tournament.

I want to thank all the donors for giving me the opportunity to compete one more year for this amazing university. Because of you all, I am able to finish my senior season and college career on the court and receive the opportunity to get my Master’s degree in professional communication and leadership. GATA!!!
 

Love,
Paula