by Trevor Jones
On October 15, after two and a half seasons of play, the Salve Regina University Court Tennis Club was finally recognized as an official student organization by the university. In 2018, I had transferred to SRU as a sophomore and was playing varsity tennis for them. I decided to give court tennis a shot, thinking it would be a one-time thing, as it would help me meet my bucket list goal of playing every racquet sport in the world at least once. Instantly, however, I was captivated and wanted to play more. Mike Gooding, head pro at Newport, suggested I get some of my Salve friends to try it, and we could get a team of sorts. When I proposed the idea to some guys on the men’s tennis team, I was met with a lot of confused reactions, but ultimately got three to join: Kevin Brocks ‘18, DJ Bisaillon ‘19, and Will Chasse’21. After being on the court for the first time, they too were hooked. Mike was able to reach out to the USCTPF, who gave us funding for racquets, court time, and lessons, and from there, we never looked back.
We approached the university about becoming a club sport, and while they were initially supportive of the idea, they told us they could not support the organizational or financial aspects. Disappointed, we had our spirits raised when we got two new recruits, friends of Will’s who had heard about the unique game and wanted to give it a shot: Jack Barter ‘21 and Shawn Conroy ‘21. As the school year came to a close and we lost Kevin to graduation, we were excited about what the fall would hold, but I would not be returning until the spring as I was going to study in London. In my absence, Will and DJ took the reigns and carried the team, picking up new freshman recruit Lauren Harvey ‘22. While I was gone, they got the team practicing twice a week, once with Mike and once alone, making sure everyone’s level was improving.
Meanwhile, across the pond, I was fortunate enough to form a short-lived team at St. Mary’s University, where we got the unique opportunity to practice at the Hampton Court Palace, and I was able to represent the university at the 2018 Inter-Universities Tournament at Cambridge. Feeling excited about the level and numbers playing collegiate court tennis in the UK, I returned to SRU, ready to take on the spring semester with the team. Seeing DJ and Will had done a smashing job — everyone’s level rose significantly, and, importantly, everyone could keep score! By the end of the spring, we had our first ever match, playing a coalition of members from the National Tennis Club, and we pulled out a 10-0 sweep. This included a thrilling come-from-behind doubles win for Shawn and Jack as well as a tight battle between Lauren and NTC member Beth Winthrop, capped off by a slew of winning gallery shots from DJ. Seeing our level was dropping, we were all quite impressed, and we even got a clap on the back from the university athletics department who said they would support us when we try again to be an official organization this year.
With DJ graduated, we brought in two new freshman girls, Delaney Pothier ‘23 and Ruth Guilbalt ‘23, who are eager to get on the court. But with the good comes the bad, and the university athletics department gave us an ultimatum: play court tennis only in the tennis off-season (for those of us on the court tennis team who also on the varsity men’s and women’s tennis teams) or don’t play. Distraught, we were left blindsided. Court tennis had never once interfered with tennis and, if anything, was helping us stay in shape and work on our footwork and hand/eye. But the choice would have to be made and, since I had put in so much work over the past three academic years for the court tennis team, I knew I could not let that fall by the wayside. So, as captain and #1 singles of the tennis team, I tendered my resignation and was off the team.
For other members of the court tennis team that played tennis, it wasn’t as much of an issue as they could still play in the offseason; but for me, with my name on all the university paperwork and getting ready for a court tennis internship this winter in Paris, there was only one choice to be made, however difficult. Additionally, the support we had planned on from athletics going into the organization recognition process was not there. Left without an oar, we were pushing against the stream. But when the Dean of Student Affairs, Malcolm Smith, and Director of Student Activities, Chiquita Baylor, helped us get back on track, we only had one more step to go.
The 15th marked our hearing with the Student Organization Recognition Committee, a board made up mostly of students who would hear the case for us to gain official status. After a brief but successful meeting, we were informed that the wait was finally over — we had been recognized! It took us a long time to get here, and we have faced many roadblocks on the way, but we did make it at last. Being recognized now means that we are officially affiliated with the university, being able to use the Salve name and making us one of only two collegiately-affiliated teams in the US (the other being Georgian Court University). As well, we are now able to formally recruit members of the student body, which will help with the longevity of the team, as well as get us towards our goal of a team of ten players (we are currently at seven).
We look forward to setting up a match with GCU in the spring, but in the meantime, we plan on playing a group of members from the Tennis and Racquet Club in Boston. Both Mike and Nick have been key in keeping us on top of our games, and the NTC at ITHF staff and members have been incredibly kind and flexible with us accommodating our needs. We also would very much like to thank Malcolm and Chiquita, as well as SORC chair, Bryce Sholtes, for all of their efforts from the university side. Without their incredible help, we would be stuck where we were. Finally, we continue to benefit from the generous budget allowed to us by the USCTPF and its selfless donors, so we yet again thank this amazing organization for all they do for us as a team and the sport in general.
