 This past spring was another solid season
for the tennis programs at Calvin. For the
men, there was new leadership this year as senior
Roland Eldridge took the court as one of the top
veteran players on a very young roster.
In addition to taking on a leadership role this
spring, Eldridge also excelled both on the court and
in the classroom.
After breaking into the playing lineup last year
as a junior, going 8-11 in No. 1 singles play, Eldridge
remained at the top playing either one or two seeded
singles matches and posting another 8-11 record, helping
lead Calvin to a 5-1 finish in the MIAA and a 16-8
record overall.
“It’s been a unique year,” Eldridge said of this past
season. “It was challenging at first, but I think it’s been
really good to give the underclassmen chances to be
leaders themselves on the team.”
Fellow senior Andrew DeVlieger also shared duties
against the top seeds with Eldridge, and Eldridge said
that the two of them found a good balance of trying
to be leaders to the younger players while also successfully
shouldering the responsibility of taking on other
schools’ top seeds.
“After the past years of being in the bottom of the
lineup or not in the lineup at all, this year especially
we have found our confidence in playing well up
there [top seeds],” he said.
For his efforts, Eldridge was named to the All-
MIAA second team. He also was the recipient of
the Allen B. Stowe Memorial Award, the league’s
top sportsmanship award.
A native of Charlotte, N.C., Eldridge came to
Calvin because of the combination of faith, academics
and athletics. He said that tennis wasn’t the main
reason why he chose to become a Knight, but that
it definitely was a great added experience to his
collegiate resume.
“There were a handful of other schools I could’ve
played tennis at,” he said, “but Calvin seemed like
the best environment for me.”
A two-time member of the MIAA Academic
Honor Roll, Eldridge graduated this spring with a
double major in economics and philosophy with plans
to pursue anything from science to entertainment.
“I’m also applying for some business consulting
jobs at banks and consulting firms, but I might get
involved with my dad’s business back home, which
is a media production business,” he said.
Another facet of Eldridge’s time at Calvin that
shaped his worldview is a semester he spent in Ghana this past fall. Studying in a new place and also having
the opportunity to continue to play tennis while in
Ghana were highlights for Eldridge during his time
in Africa.
“A lot of athletes think that they can’t study
abroad because it will hurt their season or athletic
career, but for me it was really good experience and
I wouldn’t give it up for anything,” Eldridge said.“And as far as tennis goes, I had some strong players
at the school I was at to train with.
“So there was some decent competition there to
keep me in shape, and when I came back I wasn’t far
behind at all,” he concluded.
With all of these experiences to draw on, Eldridge
is looking forward to the next stage of life. He hopes
to continue playing tennis upon his return to his
hometown Charlotte.
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