The Tennis Club is an active organization on Oakland University’s campus, welcoming any and all interested students.

This club provides students with the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and attend social events. Vice President of The Tennis Club Andrew Ferdig highlights the club is just a refreshing, different experience offered on OU’s campus.

“The number one thing is going to be something to do on campus, meet new people, make friends, and go to socials,” Ferdig said. “We host social events here and there. It’s just a different atmosphere than you would expect on a college campus.”

Ferdig states the club is for people who used to play, are interested and/or want to keep playing tennis.

“It works like an extracurricular athletic club,” Ferdig said. “A bunch of people — who either used to play in high school or used to play semi-pro — come together to hit three days a week. We do some doubles, some singles, really whatever we want to do.”

Beau Schulze, a member of The Tennis Club, highlights the community this club brings to its members. Students can hang out, have a good time and make connections well beyond graduation.

“It’s more like a community of students who are all hanging out and having a good time,” Schulze said. “The idea is that we all create friendships, hang out with each other and have a good time. There’s a good number of people that I know who have met each other in The Tennis Club, and now years after graduating, they’re hanging out to this day.”

As far as what students gain from joining the club — Schulze states the friendships made play a big role.

“I’ve known a lot of people in the club who are very introverted, people who wouldn’t go out of their way to talk to people,” Schulze said. “We also have a lot of very extroverted people on the team, and they’ve both made a lot of really great friends.”

The club offers the ability for students to get out and get fit. Throughout COVID-19, it has been difficult for students to get moving, Ferdig mentioned. The club also allows people to continue their dream within the sport of tennis.

Ferdig also emphasizes the welcoming environment the Tennis Club offers. However, it is important to know that no one takes themselves too seriously, as it is for fun at the end of the day.

“It’s probably the most welcoming environment on campus,” Ferdig said. “I would argue that it’s probably one of the more welcoming clubs you could do. People who come to practice, even if you’re really good, say you’re the best person on the team, nobody takes themselves that seriously. We understand it’s for fun.”

There are two parts of the club: the recreational team for anyone who wants to join, and the competitive team for the more serious players (requires a tryout). The competitive team travels to compete against other school clubs. As of now, The Tennis Club is only accepting students looking to try out for the travel team due to court and financial restrictions. However, when the weather consistently clears up and the club begins to play outside, anyone who is a member will be able to participate.

Students interested in learning more about The Tennis Club should contact [email protected] or visit their GrizzOrgs page.