Hall of Fame
The 18.5 points per game Jimmy averaged for Pikesville High School’s basketball team isn’t what grabbed the attention of college recruiters. Rather, it was the 25-1 tennis record that included the two county championships he had earned as the Panthers’ number one singles player.
“Back then you would get letters in the mail from colleges,” Jimmy says. “I got a box full of them. I was signed to attend Central Florida University which at the time was called Florida Tech. About two weeks before the fall semester started, the coach called me to say he was leaving. I was 17-years-old, didn't know how comfortable I was going to be down there, not knowing anybody, not knowing who the coach was going to be. So I decided to look around a little bit.”
Hoping to wind up closer to home he got back in touch with Temple whose coach had recruited Jimmy earlier. Jimmy stayed one year at Temple. He played in the fall for the Owls but sat out the spring with an injury which actually played to his favor. The following fall, to the delight of Towson coach Tom Meinhardt, Jimmy enrolled and became part of perhaps the Tigers’ most formidable period in men’s tennis.
Beginning in the spring of 1980, Jimmy went on to compile a career singles record of 62-13. As a sophomore he registered a 24-2 mark, the sixth best single season record in men’s program history. He was 20-5 in his junior year and 18-6 as a senior. His career winning percentage of .767 is third best all-time. He and Mark Snyder own the 4th best number one doubles record at 29-4. Over three years he was 58-10 at number one doubles.
The team co-captain for two years, he captured the number one singles title in three straight Tiger Tennis Classics. He placed 2nd at the 1980 Eastern Intercollegiate Meet at Rochester. In the summer of 1981 he was ranked in the top 20 in the under 21 U.S.-National Amateur Collegiate Circuit. Selected to the College Greats of America, he ranked 29th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches rankings in his junior year. After college he played professionally on the Penn Circuit while teaching tennis in Florida and Baltimore. Eventually the wear and tear from the sport led to tendonitis in his elbow, forcing him to retire from tennis.
