Grad student proves two serves are better than one

Graduate student Tom Brownlie shows his ambidextrous abilities with his left-handed serve and right-handed backhand. Tim McKinney

By Sadie Baldwin

For most graduate students, their lives are dedicated to their studies. They spend a great deal of time in the lab, night after night, logging numbers, waiting for data, doing countless hours of research. But for Cornell's Tom Brownlie of Stone Ridge, N.Y., there's been more to student life this year then research. There's intercollegiate athletics.

Last fall, Brownlie became the first graduate student to play tennis for the Big Red. Brownlie, who's working on his master's in
nutrition, had been an undergraduate member of the tennis team but had not completed four years of eligibility.

The only other graduate student before Brownlie to participate in intercollegiate athletics at Cornell was Joe Holland, in 1978, who played football and earned All-America third-team, first-team All-Ivy and All-East honors in addition to being an Academic All-American for two years. But from 1979, after Holland's participation, until two years ago, the Ivy League would not allow athletes to compete as graduate students, even if they had eligibility remaining. Brownlie has taken advantage of the rules change.

"Playing tennis has been a great opportunity for me," he said. "I feel that playing has given me an outlet to let go of the work and have fun. It gets tedious putting in long hours at the lab and tennis has given me the chance to get away."

And while Brownlie has been very dedicated to his tennis, he also has had help from his younger teammates and from head men's tennis coach Barry Schoonmaker.

"They have all understood my other commitments and allowed me leeway when I had to miss practices and games," said Brownlie. "They have really helped me succeed and make it possible to juggle tennis and my master's program."

On top of working on his master's and completing a hectic tennis schedule, Brownlie also has overcome another obstacle and turned it into an advantage. When he was 11, he injured his right shoulder playing both tennis and pitching in Little League. The injury got so bad, that five years later he was faced with the possibility of not being able to compete any more. But his love for tennis overcame the obstacle, and he started taking tennis lessons to learn how to serve with his left hand, a practice he has perfected.

"Being able to serve both right-handed and left-handed, has given me an immense advantage," said the Rondout Valley High School graduate. "At first, I just concentrated on my left-handed serve, but through time and rehab, my right shoulder has improved."

With his right-hand serve providing the consistent placement and the left giving an unusual spin, Tom has been able to contend at first singles with the top players in the East. His ambidextrous serving, along with his experience and athletic ability, has allowed him to be successful at singles and at doubles, with freshman teammate Greg Artzt. The pair, in its first and only season, has been able to be a major contributor to the Big Red team with a 12-4 record at second doubles.

Looking forward to next year, after tennis, Brownlie hopes to finish his master's program in nutrition and begin his doctorate. But he leaves the Big Red team, not only going with a notation in the record books for his graduate status, but also as a co-captain and a major contributor to his teammates' and the program's success.