Grayson Lowenthal, a 5’9”, 145-pound fireball tennis player, is in the short rows of a stellar high school tennis career. He has lost just five matches in nearly four years. He is a two-time Savannah Morning News Player of the Year. He has been named Country Day’s most valuable player each of his previous three seasons. He went undefeated as a sophomore and is in the middle of an undefeated season this year. And he has signed with the Christopher Newport University Captains to play tennis at the next level.
It’s been a charmed tennis existence for Lowenthal over the last three and a half years, but that doesn’t mean it’s been easy. One might be tempted to think Lowenthal has enjoyed a life of luxury with the Hornets. He doesn’t practice very often with the team. And he hasn’t had a lot of trouble out of his opponents. In three years, Lowenthal’s record was 59-5. As of press time, he hadn’t lost a match as a senior, but that doesn’t mean Lowenthal’s road has been easy. He spends 16 or more hours per week working on his game. He has played countless tournaments on the various junior tennis tours – year ‘round tournaments when most other high school tennis players were doing anything except playing tennis.
Why has he spent so much time playing tennis? Because he loves the game and wants to be the best at it. And it doesn’t hurt that he figured out pretty early that he had tremendous natural talent for the game. “When I was in the sixth or seventh grade, I realized that if I kept working hard and making the right decisions, I could play tennis in college. That’s when I got really serious about tennis,” he recalls. Lowethal played several other sports at that time – baseball, basketball, soccer, wrestling – but began to see that if he wanted to be an elite tennis player, he needed to spend all of his time on the tennis court. “So I stopped playing my other sports. I devoted everything to tennis.”
When Lowenthal was playing the junior tours regularly, he was ranked as high as third in the state and 35th in the South (he was in the 14-and-under age group at the time). He played the junior tournaments to gain exposure to the college coaches and scouts. The interesting thing about Lowenthal is the reason why he sought a college scholarship. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get into college without tennis. He always planned to go to college and would have had no problems getting in without being an athlete. Instead, he wanted to play tennis in college because he loves the game, and it was the next progression of a sport he wasn’t ready to give up. “I love tennis because it’s just me out there on the court. I’m completely in charge. If I do something right, it’s because of me. And if I do something wrong, there is no one to blame but me. It’s very rewarding due to the individual aspect of it,” he says.
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As successful as Lowenthal has been, for an elite player, competing on a high school team can be a mixed bag. There is often a wide range of talent found throughout the high school ranks. Some teams have some really good players while others might not have much talent, particularly those schools found in the smaller communities. That means that players the caliber of Lowenthal won’t be challenged much throughout the year. It’s also easy to lose touch with the team. Elite players often spend their practice time with their private coaches instead of their high school teams. “My coach has been pretty cool with me. I go to practice a couple of times a week so I can hit with my teammates. But I do most of my practicing away from the team,” he says. For several years, Lowenthal has employed the services of Paul Thoesen, a local tennis coach who works with the best players in the area.
Lowenthal has remained undaunted in his pursuit to become the best player he possibly can be. His 59-5 record is a testament to the work that he’s put in. So is the scholarship he landed at Christopher Newport University. He had never even heard of the school when an assistant coach contacted him. He was intrigued by the conversation and took a visit to the university. When he arrived on the campus in Newport News, Virginia, he instantly fell in love. “The campus is beautiful and so is the area,” he says. Christopher Newport is a Division III program that is also a fine academic school. For Lowenthal, it was a combination that fit precisely into what he planned to do in the future.
And speaking of the future, he plans to play four years of college tennis then call it a career. Lowenthal has no dreams of attempting to play competitively beyond his college years. “At one time, I thought I might try to play professionally but not anymore. I would like to pursue a career in business or law. I doubt I’ll ever completely give up the game, but as far as competitive tennis goes, it will end after college,” he says.
Throughout his career, Grayson Lowenthal has learned a number of lessons playing tennis. The most significant is the dividends that hard work pays. “It has taught me how to truly earn something without the help of someone else. Because tennis is so individual, I could pull up and relax any time I wanted to. But I’ve been motivated to keep working. I’ve driven myself to go out every day and practice year ‘round,” he says.
Favorites:
• Subject: English
• College team: University of Georgia
• College player: Todd Gurley
• Professional team: Denver Broncos
• Professional player: Knowshon Moreno
• Person to meet: Mahatma Gandhi
• Sport you wish you could play: Football
• Superpower: Mind reading
• Inspiration: Father and grandfather
Player Spotlight/Coastal Georgia/May 2014
Grayson Lowenthal
Savannah Country Day School
Savannah, Georgia
Robert Preston, Jr.
Savannah Country Day senior finds peace in the solitude of tennis
