Lim eventually went down with cramps, and Narido captured the state title.

"It was basically a marathon, and whoever lasted was pretty much the guy on top," Narido said. "It was unfortunate that Robbie Lim cramped out, because I was in that situation before, and it's hard. Especially when he had the match in his hands already."

It took him more than a month to realize what he did.

"It didn't really hit me until I came (to Texas), and I was sitting in calculus class, and I was like, 'Woah, I won the state championship,' and that's when I got all happy and smiley," said Narido, a freshman at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas.

Narido, a member of the men's tennis team at Division I PVAMU, was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament MVP after helping the team to its first SWAC title since 1970.

"I was happy, but I was just mainly tired that day because it was a long match on my part," said Narido, who added that it was a surprise to be named the MVP.

"I didn't really know how they said I could be the MVP."

He defeated Alcorn State's Marcos Hernandez, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4, to clinch the championship for PVAMU, playing at No. 2 singles.

His semifinal match against Alabama A&M's Sammy Muriuki was called off because PVAMU had enough points to win. Narido was up, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 1-0.

During the regular season, he had a 7-7 record, including 6-4 at No. 2 singles, and a five-match win streak entering the conference tournament.

"College is a lot faster pace than junior tennis and high school," he said. "A match can last from 45 minutes to 3 hours. Competition is a lot better; everyone wants to be there."

Narido ended up at Prairie View, northwest of Houston, because he has relatives who live in Houston, and because he liked PVAMU's engineering program.

Narido visited Texas before attending PVAMU to take an entrance exam to be admitted to the engineering program.

"It was kind of like Hawai'i: the campus is pretty nice, it's nice and small, and really green, not what I expected it to be in Texas," he said. "I kind of liked it. When I was down here, I met the tennis team and the coach. They were pretty nice."

He is a part of the STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) enhancement program, which allowed him to receive a $1,000 grant and an in-state tuition waiver.

He received recognition as the "Outstanding Freshman" in the Computer Engineering Department during National Engineers Week on Feb. 22.

"I was pretty happy, considering it was the third year, so there are only three recipients," he said.

He was also recognized during the Founders Day and Honors Recognition Convocation for being a student with a 3.5 and above grade point average, March 30.Ê