30 | SEPTEMBER 9 • 2021
SPORTS
B
enji Jacobson is the old-
est player on the Tulane
University men’s tennis
team and the team’s lone senior.
But the 21-year-old from
Bloomfield Hills has three years
of athletic eligibility
remaining.
Welcome to
college sports,
COVID-19 style.
Jacobson, named
a 2018 Jewish News
High School Athlete
of the Year follow-
ing an outstanding tennis career
at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-
Kingswood, has battled through
injuries and illness during his
college tennis days to become the
“elder statesman” of the Green
Wave.
“Benji has had no luck at all
since he came here,
” said Tulane
assistant coach Chris Simpson.
“It seems like every time he’s
been on the cusp of something
happening for him, he’s been
injured or gotten sick.
“You know, some guys
wouldn’t tough it out and say this
just isn’t for me. But not Benji.
He always has a smile on his face
and is ready to go at practice. He’s
always dialed in.
“You can’t help but like him.
He has an infectious personality.
He always has a great relationship
with everyone on the team. The
young guys on our team will lean
on him this season. Benji knows
what we expect at Tulane tennis.
”
Jacobson calls himself a pos-
itive person. That positivity has
been challenged many times
since he went to Tulane to play
tennis.
He didn’t play in the 2018-19
season, sitting it out as a redshirt.
The 2019-20 season was halt-
ed early in spring 2020 by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Spring
sports seasons were canceled by
the NCAA, and athletes were
granted an extra year of eligibil-
ity.
“Everyone on our team was
sent home for five months
after the season was canceled,
”
Jacobson said.
Jacobson was infected by
COVID-19 in January 2021, just
before the start of Tulane’s 2020-
21 spring schedule. Spring is the
major season for college tennis.
“I had it all. Fever, aches,
no smell or taste, bronchitis,
”
Jacobson said. “The bronchitis
was a major concern because I
have asthma. I wasn’t allowed
on a tennis court for a month
and I didn’t feel normal for 2½
months.
”
Feeling a little burned out
at the start of this summer,
Jacobson said, he took a couple
weeks off from working out and
tennis.
“I won’t deny it. I thought
about not playing college tennis
anymore,
” he said. “But I told
myself I’ve worked too hard all
my life to do that.
”
On July 5, while running in the
bleachers on the football field at
Cranbrook-Kingswood, Jacobson
stumbled and broke his ankle.
“Benji sent me a picture of his
ankle. It had swelled to the size of
a tennis ball,
” Simpson said.
Jacobson had an Achilles ten-
don injury and sprained thumb
earlier in his Tulane career.
The sprained thumb happened
when he slipped on a clay court
during a practice before a tour-
nament.
“Benji had to play the tourna-
ment using a one-handed instead
of his usual two-hand backhand,
”
Simpson said.
Simpson said this season could
be Jacobson’s best opportunity to
find a regular place in Tulane’s
lineup.
Jacobson is 5-8 in singles and
6-15 in doubles in his Tulane ten-
nis career. All the singles matches
took place during the 2019-20
season. He was 5-13 in doubles
that season.
“Benji is always pushing him-
self to be a better tennis player,
”
Simpson said. “He’s made an
incredible leap from his redshirt
season to now.
“I told him back in 2018 that
he could be as great as he wants
to be as long as he trusts the pro-
cess. He’s done that.
”
Jacobson thinks very highly of
Simpson.
“He’s taken my game to the
next level,
” he said.
Jacobson isn’t sure what he’ll
be doing after this school year.
He’s on track to graduate next
spring.
He’s a political science major
with a minor in business, with
future aspirations of being a
sports agent or working in the
front office of a professional
sports team.
Regardless of the next chapter
in his story, Jacobson is happy he
chose to attend Tulane, located in
New Orleans, La.
“One of the reasons I came to
Tulane is because there are a lot
of Jewish students here,
” he said.
“I also wanted the challenge of
playing Division I tennis.”
Jacobson was a three-time
All-American and three-time
state champion at Cranbrook-
Kingswood. He didn’t lose
a single set when he was a
senior.
Send sports news to
stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
TULANE UNIVERSITY
Injuries and COVID-19 can’t dim
Benji Jacobson’s desire to rule
on the tennis court.
He’s Ready
for His Senior
Moments
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Tulane University tennis
player Benji Jacobson
was a 2018 Jewish News
High School Athlete of
the Year.
Benji
Jacobson
TULANE UNIVERSITY