Each month, USTA Eastern selects one passionate advocate who has impacted lives through tennis on a local level. It all begins with a love of the game! These individuals have inspired us with their community tennis involvement.

 

Tennis Organizer of the Month: August 2017

 

Cierra Beck, originally from Scranton, P.A., is an incredibly passionate tennis player who continuously finds ways to play and improve. She has been chosen as USTA Eastern’s Tennis Organizer of the Month for August because of her tenacity in helping her peers connect the dots between various programs.

 

Cierra felt connected to tennis from an early age; she enjoyed meeting friends and being on a team. “Even though tennis is technically an individual sport, what I like about it is the team atmosphere and making new friends,” Beck said.

ADVERTISEMENT

 

She realized playing at the Scranton Tennis Club that she wanted to play high school tennis and was able to hone her skills and kept improving throughout her high school career. When it was time to start to look at colleges, Cierra had a clear goal.

 

“I really wanted to keep playing tennis because I was enjoying my time on the court so much,” Beck said. “It was important to me to be able to keep playing tennis, but my academics were also a key focus and I didn’t want to lose sight of that.”

 

Cierra decided to play Tennis On Campus at Cornell University so that she could best balance her academic and athletic pursuits and has had a wonderful experience enjoying all aspects of campus life. Last summer, Cierra participated in Battle of the Boroughs with a friend from Cornell and really enjoyed herself. This summer, she took her involvement up a notch.

 

“I thought it would be so fun to involve more of my friends from Cornell to play in this event, so I decided to register and captain my own team,” Beck said. “I was so happy that I did – so many of us were living in New York City this summer and it was a great way to bring everyone together to do something we love – and we did well!”

 

They did more than just well. In fact, playing for the borough of Manhattan, Beck’s team came in second place in the tournament! Cierra says she’s encouraging her friends to keep playing tennis after college in a USTA League or in Sets in the City.

 

“I’m so impressed by the programs in place to keep people playing tennis,” Back said. “Tennis is such a social sport, and I want to do my part to keep my friends playing!”