Photo Courtesy of NMederios Media
Chris Tunley is not the average Dean College student. The 6’2 sophomore hails from Las Vegas Nevada more than two thousand five hundred miles away from Dean. He has taken the long journey to join not only the Bulldog community but also the NCAA Division 3 Men’s Soccer Team. He joined the squad even after back-to-back ACL injuries in high school which sidelined Tunley from his first college season. He made a massive impact on the field in his second year at Dean and will look towards trying to build on that success not just individually but with the team next season.
While interviewing Chris he talked about his experience over the past few semesters at Dean. Tunley stated “Growing up in Las Vegas all my life it’s definitely different weather wise. I think being in a new place, a new experience for me outside of my comfort zone, it’s definitely an experience that I look forward to and that I have enjoyed. It’s been really life changing for me for sure.” Tunley is a double major in Sports Broadcasting and Sports Management. He holds several academic honors including recently making the President’s List for the 2023 Fall semester. He described his academic experience saying “I really enjoy it; I think the Sports Broadcasting program has grown and I think it’s continuing to make a big increase in production and classes and I’m looking forward to that, my next few years. I think for Sports Management I really enjoy the business classes and what Dean has to offer with internships.” While he has excelled in the classroom, he has also been a force on the pitch.
Photo Courtesy of NMederios Media
Tunley tallied 3 goals and 3 assists this season, but it wasn’t always that easy. He has worked extremely hard to get to this point. He spoke about what it was like having to come back from his ACL injuries. “It was definitely a long process, a long journey for me” He went on saying “The hardest part was after I tore it(ACL) the second time, just because it was like you did all that work, 11 months coming after your first one and it’s like one of those sucker punches.” He continued talking about how he needed to “regroup mentally” and “get ready for those 11-12 months again.” Tunley showed great resilience, battling multiple major setbacks. That did not go unnoticed by his teammates. Sophomore Aydin Medeiros stated that Chris “brings the embodiment of hard work, battling through multiple injuries, still showing up like everyday like it’s his last”.
Mederios also talked about Tunley’s season stating that Tunley’s best moment from the past season was his game winning assist against Emanuel. Tunley also spoke about some season highlights. “One of my favorite moments was when we went up to Norwich and we had that win 1-0, I think that win for me defined our season.” Individually Tunley said, “Another moment would be when I scored my first goal, it was also my dream to score at the collegiate level, and when I did, I think that was pretty special.” He said, “It was great, it was good feeling, it was kind of like a relief” “Having not played game in 2 years, it was just a good feeling overall”. He also said, “I thought of all the work I did and my family, it was really a surreal moment”. Chris isn’t done yet he still has his eyes on the future and more success with the Bulldogs next season.
Another teammate, attacking partner Jake Richard when asked about Tunley empathically described the Las Vegas native saying, “He’s a rock for the team”. Tunley said that as a teammate his goal is simple, “I want to always try to be a leader, a role model when I’m on the field and I always want to make sure that I’m picking up my teammates”. Tunley continued “I never want to be that person that putting somebody down”. Tunley said that motivating his teammates enhances his own play and that he wants to “always lead by example”.
Photo Courtesy of NMederios Media
Tunley gave some more background about growing up as a soccer fan saying, “I looked up a lot to Wayne Rooney”. Off the field Tunley enjoys hitting the gym and playing video games. He also follows several sports including basketball, football, and of course soccer. Lastly the best class Tunley said he has taken at Dean has been “Literature of Baseball in the Spring with Professor Skillings”. “It taught me a lot and it was interesting how Professor Skillings brought writing into baseball.” Tunley added that the class also helped him with his writing skills.
Chris Tunley will look forward to another soccer season at Dean College during the 2024 Fall semester. He continues to impress on and off the field. Tunley has truly become a great Dean Bulldog.
Comments