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

