In Memoriam … Sol Schwartz: 1970-2016

May 3, 2016 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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The tennis community lost one of its best people recently, as Sol Schwartz passed away at the age of 46. Schwartz was a manager and buyer at Holabird Sports, and dedicated his time and efforts to the sport of tennis, pushing his initiative #SaveCollegeTennis, while also helping the Long Island community following the devastation of Superstorm Sandy.

Schwartz was a loving father and husband, and is survived by his wife Ilene, daughter Dori, son Evan, brother Steven, sister Cynthia, and his mother Judith.

“Sol was the most incredible husband for over 21 years to me, an amazing dad to Dori and Evan,” said Ilene Schwartz. “He was taken from this Earth way too young, just one month after his 46th birthday . We are all better people because of him. We miss him so much and will live our lives to honor his love and dedication to helping others. We hope his dream to #SaveCollegeTennis comes true. Please keep his dream alive by attending college tennis matches.”

In 2013, Sol received the USTA Long Island’s Good Samaritan Award. Rarely does the board honor somebody who isn’t from Long Island with an award, but the Reistertown, Md. native has done tremendous things for the Long Island community.

Here is an excerpt from USTA Board Member Melanie Rubin’s 2013 speech at the Awards Dinner honoring Sol:

“Back in November 2012, when Sol Schwartz from Baltimore, Md. had heard about the devastation on Long Island due to Superstorm Sandy, and more specifically, how this impacted the tennis community on Long Island, he knew he had to help … and help he did.

“Sol, who had learned by example from his dad Herman, set out to help friends and strangers alike with our common thread being our love and involvement in the game of tennis. He continues the family tradition of generosity, love of people and love of tennis by not only setting a magnificent example for his two beautiful children, Dori and Evan, but by involving Evan by having him make us his Mitzvah project in celebrating his Bar Mitzvah.

“Sol reached out to many in the tennis manufacturing industry and reached out to the national and global tennis community as a whole, in order to help those of us here on Long Island. His tireless efforts for the past year-and-a-half have been so very much appreciated. A few examples of what Sol’s efforts have done are: Mini-tennis sets going to some schools where students had been hit hard by the storm, and wish lists granted to some local clubs devastated by Sandy as well as a few dozen local pros who were out of work due to the storm will shortly be receiving a small grant. In addition to these examples and others who have benefitted from Sol’s beneficence we, at USTA Long Island Region, want Sol to know just how special it feels to know that others care.”

Lisa Stone of Parenting Aces will help keep Sol’s memory alive by honoring his Save College Tennis initiative.

"Sol was committed to tennis, but his biggest commitment was to the college game,” said Stone. “He never missed an opportunity to promote college matches on social media, using the #SaveCollegeTennis whenever he posted. To honor Sol's love of the college game, a group of us are working to create a junior tournament that embodies all the aspects of competition that Sol loved. The tournament will hopefully be played on a college campus, allow for on-court coaching, and award a clothing sponsorship to the winner. Stay tuned for more information on the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournament."


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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