by Malika Andrews |
The far court inside the Tennis Center will now be known as “Reid’s Court.” To the UP men’s tennis team, this has always been Reid’s court, the court where he won, lost, goofed off and was sometimes told he needed to work a little harder.
Senior Reid DeLaubenfels died on Aug. 14 of an accidental head injury, according to Multnomah County medical examiners. On Sept. 26, the Pilot community is holding an on-court wake to honor Reid. During the wake, the Athletics program will lay down a plaque and make the name, “Reid’s Court,” official.
Although Reid’s tennis eligibility had expired, he was scheduled to return to campus for one more semester in fall 2015 to complete his business degree.
Blair deLaubenfels, Reid’s mother, said she remembers Reid telling her he could not choose which teammate he loved the most. This, she said, is what she wants to emphasize in honoring Reid.
“I have never seen him feel that way about guys,” Blair deLaubenfels said. “And it was two weeks before he died, he said he would be coming back and the thing he was looking forward to was coming back and watching them play. That’s what I really want to shine out: how much respect he had for Aaron (Gross) and how much he loved those boys and the team.”
Blair deLaubenfels said that men’s tennis head coach Aaron Gross was one of the biggest mentors in Reid’s life along with his high school coach, Bob Behrens; his childhood tennis coach and friend, Jesse Schouten; and former Fresno State coach, Jay Udwadia.
Reid’s love for his tennis family did not go unnoticed by Gross.
Not the traditional leader, Reid’s selflessness and silliness are what stood out to Gross.
Gross said that Reid was someone who influenced him not only as a coach, but as a father as well. He said that Reid taught him that self-esteem is not contingent on one’s talent, which he feels is a rarity among athletes.
“He’s that guy that teaches you to never judge a book by its cover because as soon as you’re engaged with him, you’re the most important person,” Gross said. “He taught me that you get a lot of Kobe Bryant, winning-is-everything, there-is-nothing-but-the-struggle and the work types. And he wasn’t the hardest worker, but he competed really hard and was able to leave it at the door when he left.”
The tennis team is now back on campus and feeling the loss of Reid now more than ever.
“I think of him every day,” men’s tennis player Mike Pervolarakis said. “Especially now that I am living in the house. We used to hang out in his room all the time and now it’s like the door is closed and I don’t even want to open it. He was a good teammate, I think he was the loudest of all of us. He was a big fighter.”
When the team takes the court for their first match, they will be outfitted in jerseys with the letters “R.D.” on their sleeves.
In addition to the on-court celebration of life, a Memorial Mass will be celebrated to honor Reid on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher.
Malika Andrews is the Sports Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at andrewsm17@up.edu or on Twitter @malika_andrews.
