USTA News

WORCESTER, Mass. - USTA New England held its annual College Day Forum at the College of the Holy Cross on Oct. 31. 

The event featured six professionals, ranging from experts in college admissions, consulting and coaching, to former student-athletes.  The College Day Forum was sponsored by USTA New England and open to any high school student in need of knowledge regarding participating in tennis at the collegiate level.

David Zeutas-Broer, USTA New England’s Player Development Manager, who organized the event said, "The outstanding panel informed and educated the hundred-plus audience of players and parents on the ins and outs of becoming college student-athletes."

The panel included Scott Steinberg, University of Southern Maine’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and USTA New England vice president; Tim Donovan of Donovan Tennis Strategies and a member of the USTA New England Player Development Committee; Thomas Santoro, a 2009 Yale University graduate who played four years of tennis for the Bulldogs; Mollie Edinson, a former captain and No. 1 singles player at Cornell University and current tennis pro; Katie Roiter Bayard, head tennis coach at Tufts University and a four-time All-Ivy selection at Harvard University; and Boston University coach Rick Edelmann, who dispensed advice gathered through his 20-plus years of college tennis.

Topics covered choosing the right path for the individual athlete, info about Division 1, 2 and 3 programs, financial aid, life as a student-athlete, the interview process and securing a position on the team.  Mr. Steinberg had compared the college application essay to the serve in tennis.  "It is something over which you have total control.  Use it to your advantage," he said.