By Kaylee Jones
BACKGROUND:
Cameron Pope, known to his friends and family as Cam, is a sophomore majoring in Business Administration at NC State University. Cam was born and grew up in the rural town of Kinston, North Carolina. He started taking tennis lessons at the early age of four years old and continued to do so until his senior year of high school. “My parents played adult league tennis through USTA and I started hitting with them after they finished their matches. I did not start playing competitively until I was seven years old, playing for Junior Team Tennis and USTA Junior League Tennis when I turned eight years old,” stated Cam.
HIGH SCHOOL:
Cam went to Arendell Parrott Academy, where he joined the varsity tennis team his freshman year. When asked about his time at Parrott, he stated “I wouldn’t trade my high school years for anything, and they were the best four years of tennis I could have imagined.” Highlights from high school include becoming team captain and leading his team to the state finals back to back seasons his junior and senior year.
COLLEGE:
Cam joined the club tennis team at NC State his freshman year. He said, “the club tennis team is really fun and has a very laid-back atmosphere. We make the club for everyone. We did not cut people this year which is nice because we like to play as much as possible and want everyone to try tennis.” Currently, he is an officer of the team. Cam stated that he enjoyed being and officer because it allowed him the opportunity to meet new people and work with others; all the while gaining leadership skills and learning how to run an organization.
The club team hosted a tournament at NC State that consisted of over twenty teams. “We brought four teams from NC State to play in it. Our A-Team finished second in the gold bracket, and RB team finished sixth in the silver bracket,” said Cam. Recently, they traveled to Auburn University were their A-Team qualified for the national tournament.
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE:
Tennis has made a tremendous impact on Cam’s life. “Growing up, tennis helped me learn patience and meet new people,” said Cam. It has also been an outlet to get job opportunities. Currently, Cam is the assistant head coach of the tennis team at Duke School in Durham, North Carolina. His plans for the future involve going to law school upon graduation from NC State. He intends to stay in Raleigh or potentially move to Georgia. Cam says that, “as of right now my plans are pretty open, but that this the main game plan.”