WW-P grad is enjoying successful year
By: Justin Feil
The first time that Michael Schwartz entered the James E. Cryan Memorial Tennis Tournament, he and partner Troy Kim won the men’s B doubles championship in 1995.
What followed was a long hiatus from the Cryan and from competitive tennis before Schwartz found the game again three years ago. Schwartz didn’t appear to have lost much in his second entry into the Cryan B singles tournament as the Plainsboro resident came away a winner, 6-4, 6-0, over Michael Guth last Friday at Mercer County Park.
"I always wanted to win singles," said Schwartz, who was the 12th seed. "To be able to do both is really nice. I tried it a few years back when I first got back into it. I wanted to play but I had to go to training last year. I was finally able to put it all together and was lucky enough to win the B singles this year."
Schwartz is no stranger to winning in Mercer County. He was part of the West Windsor-Plainsboro boys’ tennis team that began to grow very competitive during his years. As a sophomore at WW-P, he was part of the team that ended a losing streak to Princeton High School that stretched longer than a decade. Schwartz developed into an all-Colonial Valley Conference and all-state selection at second singles by his graduation in 1994.
"Ogidi Obi played first and after he left, Edmund Choo did," Schwartz recalled. "So I played behind two future college players. I didn’t play in college. And right after college, I started on my career in the hospitality industry."
Today, Schwartz, who graduated from Penn State, is revenue manager at the Hyatt Regency in West Windsor. After moving back to the area in 2005, he began to play more and more tennis again.
"I love this area," Schwartz said. "As I was moving up through the ranks, I had no time to play. The service industry will do that to you. There are a lot of hours when you work in operations.
"Three years ago, I got back into tennis. It had to be close to a decade I took off. I didn’t play competitively. I just played a little here and there. Then I got back into playing when I moved back to Plainsboro."
Schwartz started slowly when he got back into the game with the help of his wife, Esma.
"My first partner when I got back into playing was hitting with my wife," Schwartz said. "She doesn’t play at all. She’s supportive. She comes to my matches. She cheers me on. She’s starting to like the sport.
"It does take time," he added, "because you’re relearning the strokes, understanding where the ball will bounce and land. It’s not like riding a bicycle. There’s split-second timing. I like to hit with a lot of topspin, and that’s not something that comes back quickly. You have to develop it."
In the last year, there has been a lot for Esma to cheer for during Schwartz’s matches. Regardless of the tournament he has entered, he has fared well.
"I played in a league last year at Mercer County Park in a 4.5 league and was able to win that," he said. "I also played that this year in the Mercer County B singles and made it the finals of that. And in the Mercer County Shootout, a one-day tournament where you play tiebreakers, I made the finals last year and I was able to win it this year.
"It’s been a good summer. It’s helped that I’ve been able to lose about 15 pounds. It’s from the extraordinary heat and playing a lot of tennis."
Schwartz has seen his game improve with each year since returning to the sport that he loved while at WW-P. His first singles entry into the Cryan was ended by the eventual champion, but this year, he was able to move through each successive opponent to claim his first crown.
"I just went out there and played the game I knew," he explained, "relying on consistency and moving opponents around and playing to opponents’ weaknesses, which is usually their backhand. I’m a lefty, so it’s helpful for me. I’m able to hit cross-court shots to their backhand side."
Even with that advantage, Schwartz didn’t feel like a shoo-in to win the Cryan. He had to go through several higher seeds to reach the final.
"Each opponent was getting better and better," he said. "Each match represented its own challenges. As the tournament moved on, so did the level of play. And generally it was over 90 degrees each time I played, so it was a little tough on the body."
Despite the wear and tear, he won’t be taking much time off to enjoy the win. He will compete in the Stone Age Tournament at Mercer County Park in which players much compete using only wooden rackets. Schwartz is excited about the unique tournament in which he will play at the A level for the first time.
"As of now, to improve my level of play, I’m going to enter in the A flight in tournaments," he said. And after winning the B title this year, he must move up to the A level for next year’s Cryan. With a pair or Cryan titles now his, he is looking forward to another challenge.
"I’m very happy," Schwartz said. "I’m more so happy to be out there having fun and playing the sport. It’s great to be out there with the fellow tennis players and old friends. Being in that competitive environment, it’s exciting."

