ZAC Robinson is determined to not be the last Mildura person to play tennis at St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
The 22-year-old former Sunraysia tennis player is in his fourth and senior year at the college, after gaining the Phil Lancaster Family Tennis Scholarship that connects Sunraysia tennis players to the American college circuit.
However, his final season as a tennis player for the college was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with men’s tennis one of six athletic programs the college has cut, Robinson, his teammates and alumni of the program are fighting for its future.
“It means a lot to be part of the St Edward’s Community, I’m the fifth person from Mildura to play tennis at St Edward’s (through the Lancaster Family Tennis Scholarship) so it’s more about your legacy and what you leave the program,” Robinson said.
“You are taking the lead on pushing back against this decision.”
Mildura’s Simon Boyce, a hall of famer at St Edward’s who was a player at the college from 2002 until 2006 and an assistant coach from 2007-2009, is leading the charge to save the tennis team.
“It obviously means a lot to a lot of people, our coach told us there is 53 years of legacy at the college under threat at the moment,” Robinson said.
“The main thing that caused a lot of controversy was that we didn’t find out about the decision until the day after it happened. There wasn’t a whole lot of communication, our coach wasn’t aware of it until the day of it.”
The college said the decision to cut men’s tennis and six other programs was a financial one with less enrolments forecast next semester, but now – with the initial support the sports have received – they have left the door open for reinstatement.
“As of (this week) we were told because of all the fighting we are doing, pushing against this decision and we’ve received so much support, a petition has received almost 20,000 signatures, they told us that if we can raise $2 million by the end of May they will reinstate the tennis program for men and women,” Robinson said.
“They are not taking money at the moment, just pledges, in case we don’t raise enough.
“At the moment we’ve been able to raise $450,000, that’s in the space of a couple of days, so we are hopeful we can reinstate the program.”
Pledges can be made to Boyce at simonjohnboyce@gmail.com.
Reflecting on his time in the United States as he prepares to graduate with a business administration degree on May 9, Robinson was grateful for the opportunity he received.
He will start a working visa on June 15 and is planning to stay in Austin and work for at least a year post graduation.
“I haven’t taken it for granted. It’s been a great experience and being able to play tennis while getting a college degree has been my ideal situation,” he said.
“Austin is an amazing city, there’s a lot of opportunities, I’ve met amazing people from all over the world.”
