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UB tennis star fueled by hometown pride

Chantal Martinez-Blanco Puerto Rico left three years ago to play tennis at UB but this year especially had her hometown on her mind.

BUFFALO, NY — Chantal Martinez-Blanco left Puerto Rico three years ago to play tennis at UB and so far, it seems like the perfect match.

Not only is she excelling on the court but in the classroom as well. Martinez-Blanco is an economics major who has close to a 3.8 GPA.

And on the court, she was named the Bulls' most valuable player this season and led UB to its second straight MAC title.

Those are pretty impressive accomplishments under any circumstances but especially given what she went through.

Last September, Martinez-Blanco not only had to worry about school and tennis but how her family was doing back home when Hurricane Maria struck.

Thankfully, her house didn't see too much damage she said they just dealt with some flooding. But her parents own an insurance company so they saw the devastation in other parts first hand. Even eight months later they're still trying to help fix the island.

And Martinez-Blanco is hoping to do the same. She brought back supplies teams at UB collected and wants to do it again when she goes home in the summer.

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