Driven for greatness

Nicole Avila-Ambrosi is taking her Medical College Admission Test in late January in the middle of a basketball season where she is a starting guard for the women’s team.

The test is commonly known as the MCAT. Those who are preparing to take it, or have recently taken it, likely have a few more colorful names for the MCAT because studying for it is like having a full-time job. The test itself lasts almost eight hours and the results can have great bearing on your future career path.

Other than that, it’s no big deal.

“I’ve definitely lost some hours of sleep studying for it but it’s worth it because at the end of the day this is what I want to do,” Avila-Ambrosi said. “It’s definitely tough with my schedule but I’m not going to complain about it because this is the career I’ve chosen.”

She has been studying for the MCAT four hours a day, six days a week since August. This is in addition to her classes, practices, weights and playing in basketball games. She has also shadowed several Sanford Health doctors, including orthopedic surgeon Dr. Nathan Skelley, who serves as the Coyote athletic department’s team physician.

“I’ve always been a nerd,” she said. “I always enjoyed science classes, chemistry, biology and anatomy growing up. I’ve shadowed doctors and volunteered at hospitals and along the way I began to realize this is actually really fun and interesting. I could see myself working in this field.”

This 5-8 junior graduated from Millard North in Omaha, Nebraska, as the school’s all-time leading scorer. She went on to Division I California Baptist for two years and then transferred to USD prior to the 2022-23 season.

She has evolved into an outstanding defensive player for the 7-3 Coyotes, who play at UT Martin Saturday. She averages five points a game and is second on the team in minutes played behind Grace Larkins.

A player who scored more points than anyone in her school’s history is now known for her defense. It might not be the way things usually come about but it’s working for Avila-Ambrosi and USD coach Kayla Karius.

“We saw last year how great a defender she can be,” Karius said. “But I think she has taken another step forward this year in her defensive mindset. She has become the player we use to match up to everybody’s best guard. She takes great pride in slowing people down in the full court and pestering them.”

Avila-Ambrosi began paying attention to her defense as a freshman in high school. Perhaps it was that nerdish nature manifesting itself in something besides getting A’s on her chemistry tests.

“I was always known a little more for my offensive skills up to that point, but when I got to high school, Coach (Dave) Diehl told me if I wanted to play a lot of minutes I was going to have to work on my defensive skills,” Avila-Ambrosi said. “So props to him on that because he really got me to where I am now.”

Defense ultimately comes down to desire and motivation. Avila-Ambrosi combines that with athletic ability and court awareness. She has gotten better at being in the right position and knowing where she can be the most disruptive.

“I get as excited getting a steal as I do hitting a 3-pointer,” she said. “It really helps having the same passion for defense as I do offense.”

It was on offense that Avila-Ambrosi got her 15 minutes of fame in 2019 when her spinning layup in the state championship of Millard North’s 62-52 win over Lincoln Southwest made ESPN’s Top 10 plays of the day. It takes a little hunting to find it on the internet but it’s worth the effort. 

“I did a lot of interviews after that and then gained quite a few followers on Instagram, which was kind of funny,” she said. “It was like that for about two weeks and then it was over.”

Did you realize what you were doing when the ball went in?

“A lot of interviewers asked me that question,” she said, laughing. “I can say my eyes were locked on the rim when I threw it up there – it wasn’t all luck. It just had an extra 360 to go with it.”

The daily 360 for Avila-Ambrosi these days involves getting a lot of good things done in a short amount of time. Doesn’t she know that part of college is about goofing around? The truth is you wouldn’t suspect she has a lot on her mind by talking to her. She laughs easy and is very popular with her teammates. 

“It makes you want to root for her because she really does have it all,” Karius said. “She’s a gifted athlete, a great student and is incredibly driven to be great at both. It’s neat to have someone like her in the program. Any time I bring her up to people outside the team they just look at me in shock, like ‘How is she managing to do all that?’ And I’ll tell them she’s not just doing it, she’s doing it at a very high level.”

The opportunity to come back to USD meant she’d be playing within a few hours of her family – they come to every home game – and academically put her on track to pursue a career in medicine. 

“It has been a perfect fit,” she said. “I’m so happy I transferred here. Our fan base is super strong – just very supportive of all of us. And my teammates are my best friends. Kayla and all the coaches have been super supportive, too. It’s great to be part of a super tight-knit culture like we have here.”