For Spencer Heslop, commitment to faith requires
difficult decisions
For
Michigan’s
wheelchair
tennis team, their competitive
debut went about as well as
anyone could’ve hoped.
In
the
team’s
first
ever
appearance at the Collegiate
Wheelchair
Tennis
National
Championships, the Wolverines’
athletes were finalists in the
team competition and all but one
of the individual competitions.
The team racked up other
accolades
as
well,
bringing
home
three
academic
all-
American awards in addition to
Graduate Student Chris Kelley’s
sportsmanship honor. In doing
so, Michigan established itself
as a force to be reckoned with
on the collegiate adaptive sports
scene,
gaining
respect
and
recognition from competitors
and doubters alike.
Still, a sense of “What could’ve
been?” lingers.
A pesky asterisk sits alongside
one of the Wolverines’ finalist
designations. Graduate student
Spencer
Heslop
forwent
his
chance to potentially be crowned
a champion in both his and the
Wolverines’
first
competitive
wheelchair tennis appearance.
Heslop didn’t really know
what to expect coming into
the tournament. Primarily a
wheelchair
basketball
player
— Heslop played basketball for
four years at the University of
Illinois — he only began training
seriously for wheelchair tennis
within the past year. Truthfully,
all that mattered to Heslop
before his debut is that he gave
it his all.
And that he did. In Tier 2, the
intermediate-level
individual
tier,
the
unknown
Heslop
shocked his more experienced
opponents,
performing
dominantly in each of his three
matches. In all, Heslop dropped
only a single set on his path to
the Tier 2 final.
In
the
team
competition,
Heslop partnered with Kelley,
Michigan’s
highest-ranked
and most experienced player,
admirably well. The pair blew
away Biola University’s duo before
upsetting
the
second-ranked
San Diego State University in a
thrilling contest, setting Michigan
up for a final showdown against
the five-time champion University
of Alabama.
But for Heslop, this was the
end of the road. The Tier 2 trophy
was handed to Clemson’s Jeff
Townsend, and Michigan’s Caiden
Baxter would take Heslop’s place
in the team final.
Heslop, a lifelong member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints, is a committed
observer of the Sabbath. While
different people and religious
groups observe the Sabbath in
different ways, for Heslop, it
means that he doesn’t study,
work, or compete in any athletic
competitions on Sundays.
“It’s not that he says ‘thou
shalt not play on Sundays,’”
Heslop said. “It’s something that
I’ve chosen to do as a sign of
my commitment to try to follow
him, to take a day to try to be a
little bit more kind, a little more
loving in terms of reaching out
to others and helping them feel
loved.”
Undoubtedly, setting aside an
entire day each week to observe
the Sabbath is a significant
commitment,
and
it
hasn’t
come without its challenges
for Heslop. A lifelong athlete,
Heslop has sat out a considerable
number of games throughout his
life to uphold the commitment to
his faith.
“Especially
when
I
was
younger, it was even harder than
it is now. It was important for me
to find out if this is what I truly
believed, if I was committed to
this personally,” Heslop said.
“I did a lot of soul searching.
But
ultimately,
I
made
this
commitment and I feel like I’ve
become a better person because
of it.”
So, while Heslop’s decision to
sit out the Tier 2 and team finals
may incite disbelief for some, his
mind was made up a long time
ago. Going into the tournament,
Heslop knew that if he played well
enough to make it to the final day,
he would have to accept
finishing as the Tier 2
runner-up by default and
watch the team final from
the sidelines.
For
some,
knowing
that they couldn’t win
the championship even if
they played well enough
to
deserve
it
would
significantly
impact
their performance. But
for Heslop, competition
is about far more than
individual accolades.
“It definitely weighs on
my mind a little bit, but at
the end of the day, it’s for
the team. In the individual
competition, I just wanted
to perform as well as I
could, and as far as that
got me, so be it,” Heslop
said. “And as much I’d like
to be able to take part in
the team final, I also know
that my teammates want
to and deserve to, and I
think that strengthened
my resolve to get us (to the
final).
“I can’t say that there
aren’t
moments
where
I
don’t
wonder
‘what
if’,
but
focusing
on
those moments doesn’t get you
anywhere other than in a tougher
place. So I try to channel that
energy to being a voice of support
from the sideline.”
While
Heslop
has
been
committed
to
observing
the
Sabbath for a long time now,
the experience of having to sit
Sundays out hasn’t become any
easier. The team, however, stands
proudly behind Heslop and his
beliefs.
“We
talked
about
this
possibility at the beginning of
the season and they’ve been
behind me this whole time,”
Heslop said. “As we ourselves are
trying to find our recognition
within the University and in
our sphere of DEI, they turned
around and extended that same
welcoming atmosphere to me as
far as religion is concerned.
“That goes a long way into
demonstrating
the
character
of the people we have on our
team.”
While Michigan had been
in talks with the tournament’s
organizer, the United States
Tennis Association (USTA), to
get the finals moved back to
Saturday, they were ultimately
unsuccessful. With Heslop on
the sidelines, Michigan’s Baxter
and Kelley put up a valiant fight
against Alabama’s heavyweights
in the team final, but fell short
in the end.
Heslop’s would-be opponent
in the Tier 2 final, Clemson’s
Townsend, was willing to try to
work out a schedule change —
the two are former teammates
and members of the same church
— but concluded that a Saturday
final would be too quick a
turnaround time after already
playing three matches that day
in the scorching Orlando heat.
So,
for
Heslop
and
for
Michigan,
despite
performing
better than anyone had expected,
there will always remain a small
sense of what might have been.
For Heslop, though, that’s quite
alright.
“I feel like I left it all out there
in the matches I got to play in,”
Heslop said. “I don’t think I left
anything unsaid, so to speak. And
that’s what I focus on more —
what I did accomplish, instead of
worrying too much about what I
could have accomplished.”
GRAYSON BUNING
Daily Sports Writer
Courtesy of Manuela Davies
Spencer Heslop chose faith, forgoing his shot at winning a championship.
Thursday, May 13, 2021
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS 13