NEWBERG, Ore. --- The 2021 Davis Cup tournament finals begin in less than a month, but qualifying tournaments have already been held throughout the world for nations that are not a part of the World Group. Camden Camacho, a member of the George Fox University men's tennis team, recently represented the island territory of Guam at one of these tournaments.

Camacho is one of the top players from his homeland, the westernmost territory of the United States. Guam is the southernmost of the Mariana Islands, located nearly equidistant from Tokyo and Manila, approximately 3,800 miles west and south of Honolulu in the South Pacific.

"It's always an honor to represent Guam on an international stage and I am very thankful of the local community for the support they give the team," Camacho said. "Every time I play, whether in an International competition or not, I just try to think of the people who have helped me as motivation — Torgun the GNTF president, my parents, family, friends, Aunties and Uncles of the tennis community, and teammates. I often tell myself 'fight for something bigger than yourself, fight for Guam,' because I know that I have to keep improving so I can better represent Guam.

A junior with sophomore athletic eligibility at George Fox, Camacho was an alternate on Guam's 2018 Davis Cup squad, the first year the island competed separately from the Pacific Oceania team. A four-year All-Island selection at Father Duenas High School, Camacho played for Team Guam in the Pacific Games in American Samoa that year and got his first Davis Cup experience, going 2-2 in singles and 2-0 in doubles in Asia/Oceania Group IV.

Much like English association football, the Davis Cup competition is tiered, with only the top teams from the top groups moving on to the final tournament competition in November. The equivalent of the Premier League is the World Group, which comprises the top 16 tennis-playing nations automatically invited each year to the final competition. The rest of the tournament field comes from three regional zones and there are multiple groups in each zone. Teams in the top groups compete for a berth in the final tournament, while nations in lower groups can earn promotion by finishing at the top of their group and winning playoffs. Likewise, nations that finish in the lower half of the top groups can be relegated to lower groups.

Competing in Asia/Oceania Group IV, Camacho and his Guam team traveled to Bahrain earlier this month to try and earn promotion into Group III. Camacho and his teammates competed with Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the host nation, Bahrain. Camacho played both number-one singles and doubles for Guam in this year's competition, his most competitive match came on Oct. 22 in a marathon three-set loss to Bahrain's Abdulkarim Abdulnabi which lasted two and a half hours.

"I had an awesome experience representing Guam and playing high-level opponents," Camacho said about his time at the Cup. "I was able to watch and play against former professional players, current, and former college-level players. It was a tough transition to adjust to the time zone difference, but being in the desert of Bahrain was fun because I love the heat and the sun."

In George Fox's 2020-21 tennis season, Camacho's number-six singles win over Pacific clinched the Bruins' Northwest Conference championship. Camacho was also victorious in a number-three doubles pairing with Vahag Pashayan at the NWC championships as the Bruins advanced to the national Elite Eight, the deepest tournament run in the history of the program. 

"It's really amazing to watch Camden participate in such a prestigious competition as Davis Cup, and to play for his country," said George Fox men's tennis head coach Jeff Cero. "He has great poise and mental stability under pressure, which is one of the reasons he plays so well in difficult situations and has brought so much to the program. One of his greatest strengths is although he pushes himself on court, he also doesn't take himself too seriously, and has a way of keeping things in perspective. Having him on the team is such a blessing in more ways than just tennis itself, and it's great to cheer and support him and Guam from a distance!" 

Camacho credits a lot of the traits Cero highlights to playing for the Bruins' coaching staff. "Playing under Jeff has brought my game to another level physically and mentally," Camasho said. "Coming into college I was 135 pounds and very erratic. He's been teaching me the mental side of tennis and my game has improved the most through those lessons. Also, his different teaching style, compared to Guam coaches, forces me to compete hard even when I am tired and don't want to. I believe that Jeff's coaching has improved everyone on the team's game and it showed through last year's season after winning conference for the first time, winning our regional, and competing at nationals [in 2021]."