Save College Tennis “The Sol” • “Joe Hunt Memorial” Tourney At Annapolis & David Macpherson Wins Both

The Sol Awards Its First #SaveCollegeTennis Grant

 

 

When her dear friend passed away suddenly at age 46, Lisa Stone of ParentingAces quickly formed a Planning Committee and created the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournament. Now in its 3rd year, The Sol (as it’s affectionately known) is proud to announce that on this cold and rainy day, Ilene Schwartz, wife of the late Sol Schwartz, and her son, Evan, traveled to Washington, DC, to present the first of what they hope will be many grant checks in honor of Sol’s mission to #SaveCollegeTennis.

 

Editor’s Note: Lisa Stone has been playing tennis her entire life. Through ParentingAces.com and the ParentingAces Podcast, Stone shares what she’s learned about navigating the Junior Tennis Journey and College Recruiting with other parents and coaches who are hungry for her insights and knowledge. She has interviewed over 250 experts for her articles and podcasts, including Tracy Austin, Allen Fox, the late Steve Johnson Sr., Mark Kovacs, Frank Giampaolo, Tim Russell, Charlotte Alabaster, and Dave Miley among others. For more about Lisa Stone, read this piece published on the Tennis Recruiting website: http://tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=1466.

 

The tournament committee set a goal from Day One to award a grant each year to a college tennis program at risk of being cut due to funding concerns.

 

The deserving recipient of the 2017 $1000 grant is the George Washington University Men’s Tennis Team, coached by David Macpherson and David Marshall. Says Coach Macpherson, “It was a great pleasure to meet Ilene and Evan!! We feel very honored that GW was chosen by such a prestigious foundation and we are determined to honor Sol’s legacy by playing college tennis with great passion and sportsmanship which were his trademarks as a player himself.”

 

“Today Sol’s dream to save college tennis came true when the GW tennis team received the first donation raised from #theSol. The boys and their coach were so appreciative. Each one gave me a hug and thanked me. I told them this was my husband’s dream come true,” shared Ilene Schwartz.

 

As yet another example of Sol Schwartz’s far-reaching impact in tennis, it turns out that GW Assistant Coach David Marshall was a great friend of Sol’s during his college years at Washington. Sol’s short life impacted so many people, and we are honored to be able to continue his legacy in the sport he loved so much.

 

For information on the 2018 #TheSol events, please visit https://parentingaces.wixsite.com/thesol.

 

Joseph Hunt (Grand Nephew) Shares:

The interconnections within the world of tennis are what make us a family. They often come as a surprise, but they shouldn’t. They are amazing, and often poignant. Sometimes what seems like pure coincidence is really the product of people who care. Consider the interconnection of The Sol Schwartz #Save College Tennis All-In Tournament and the Joe Hunt Invitational at the United States Naval Academy, both legacy events with dual aspirations: to honor lost tennis greats, and to support grassroots tennis at the college level. One tennis website, 10sBalls.com has contributed significantly to both events. In the case of the Joe Hunt Invitational, 10sBalls.com procured and donated the perpetual silver tray that will be awarded to the tournament champion forever. In the case of The Sol Schwartz, 10sBalls.com sponsored a scholarship for a deserving college tennis team. These projects represent the website’s only direct involvement in college tennis. In this very first year, the Sol Schwartz grant was awarded to the George Washington Men’s Tennis Team, coached by David McPherson. The Joe Hunt Invitational is in its 4th year, and who won that beautiful silver tray in 2016? Why, it was the fine young player Julius Tverijonas. And who did Julius play tennis for?…. David McPherson’s George Washington University, of course!

Side note: We at 10sballs.com have provided limited coverage – and have had limited involvement in – U.S. college tennis. How interesting that in the TWO college tennis-related events we’ve chosen to sponsor – TheSol and The Joe Hunt Invitational hosted by the US Naval Academy – George Washington University Men’s Tennis has played a prominent role! Congratulations to Coach Macpherson and his team!