Written by Doug Goodnough
When Hillsdale College decided to restart men’s tennis as a collegiate sport in 2015-16, Jerry Hewitt, ’19, was the very first recruit to commit to the Chargers.
By the time the Rockford, Michigan, native graduated, he had helped build the Chargers into a championship program, with Hillsdale winning the very first Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) title in 2017-18. He said he still considers that one of the highlights of his time on campus.
“That was awesome,” Hewitt said of his junior season, which saw the Chargers finish 8-0 in the G-MAC regular season and sweep through the conference tournament. “We pushed each other in practice and we did the hard work in the weight room and on the tennis court.”
Hewitt, who played singles and doubles during his time at Hillsdale, said watching the program grow was a “blessing.”
“It was cool to be a part of that first team,” he said. “It’s awesome to see the wins they’ve had since and make the NCAA tournament.”
Hillsdale head coach Keith Turner watched Hewitt play as a high schooler at a tournament in Sturgis, Michigan. He convinced Hewitt to visit campus, and once he did, he was sold on Hillsdale.
“I loved the school and what it stood for and also the academics,” Hewitt said. “And the indoor (tennis) complex was nice. It was a big draw, too.”
He said besides the G-MAC conference championship, defeating Wayne State in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament in his sophomore season was also a highlight. And during his senior season, defeating nationally ranked Ferris State “showed we were legit and we were here to stay.”
After graduation, Hewitt spent one year as a teacher, but then he went back to his hometown in 2020 to work as a tennis pro and coach at MVP Rockford, a tennis facility. He also serves as the assistant girls coach at Rockford High School, and said his playing days prepared him for coaching.
“I have a great appreciation going from competitive playing to coaching,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot, especially the mental and physical, teaching the strokes and the strategy.”
Ironically, tennis was a secondary sport when he was in middle school. In fact, his parents wanted him to choose a spring sport when basketball season was over, and the decision was between tennis and track.
“I didn’t want to run track for a whole season,” Hewitt said of choosing tennis. “But I fell in love with the game and the whole mental aspect of it.”
He said he one day would like to become a tennis director or hold another upper-level position in tennis. And he is grateful for his time at Hillsdale.
“I made a lot of lifelong connections,” said Hewitt, who was a Spanish and Christian Studies double major as well as a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. “The academics can’t be overstated. Hillsdale pushed us to learn and grow as people, as well as how to think about things and engage with the people around us.”
Doug Goodnough, ’90, is Hillsdale’s director of Alumni Marketing. He enjoys connecting with fellow alumni in new and wonderful ways.
Published in February 2024
