Miami University Student and Co-captain of the Tennis Team dies at age 20

By Lorelei Lange

Miami University Journalism Student

Miami University student, tennis player and ambassador Erin Rodriguez, who died last Friday at age 20, will be buried in Florida Thursday.

Rodriguez, a junior from Highland Beach, Florida, came to Miami University on a full-ride athletic scholarship to play tennis. She was co-captain of the tennis team. Her friend said she died peacefully in her sleep.

Erin Rodriguez, “was kind and compassionate and always worked hard in everything she did…Erin was the sunshine of our team. She was funny, intelligent, compassionate and a very kind girl,” said Yana Carollo, one of Rodriguez’s tennis coaches, in a University release.

According to the Miami Athletics website, Rodriguez played both singles and doubles on the team. In an April 2016 feature story on Rodriguez on the university athletic website, Rodriguez said she was drawn to Miami for the coach who recruited her. “Once I visited, I fell in love with the beautiful campus and definitely pictured myself attending the school,” she said in the story. “Miami also has an incredible academic program and a top business school, and I am honored to be a part of such a respected university.”

The story also said Rodriguez was planning to go to law school and wanted to be a prosecuting attorney one day.

Those who knew Rodriguez, described her as an incredible human who would brighten people’s days just by talking to them. Erin wasn’t just the captain of the team; she was everyone’s dear friend as well.

“There are so many reasons that we will always love Erin,” said Eliza Abraham, who is Rodriguez’s best friend and a former member of the Miami hockey team. “She was strong, caring, and full of life.”

Abraham said Rodriguez was a leader. “She was always confident and sure of herself in a way that was so powerful that she helped the people around her grow. Her positive outlook on her future pushed her to work hard and no matter how busy she was with tennis, Farmer School of Business, and her double major, she always had a smile on her face.”

Rodriguez was a great friend who was supportive and always made time for her friends, Abraham said. “Her positive outlook and leadership will continue to follow Kaitlyn and me,” she said. “She will always be our best friend and we will remember her as the compassionate, fun, loving girl we spent countless nights in watching Gossip Girl with. She will be dearly missed.”

Not only was Erin Rodriguez a tennis player, she majored in political science and minored in business legal students. Rodriguez was a dean’s list student and also a college ambassador for Miami University’s College of Arts and Science.

A celebration of Rodriguez’s life was held Wednesday in Boca Raton, Florida. Burial will be Thursday at St. Lucy Catholic Church in Highland Beach. A scholarship in Erin’s name has been established at Miami.