In a life of being ranked near the top

Harvard Law Can Wait as U.S. Open Beckons for No. 641 Strode In a life of being ranked near the top, Blake Strode will have to settle for No. 641 when coach online outlet he tries to qualify for the coach factory outlet online U.S. Open after deferring his entrance at Harvard Law School. Strode has been living out of a suitcase for much of the past year since telling Harvard Law, which has produced two U.S. presidents and 15 Supreme Court justices, that he would delay his place in moot court for a spot on a tennis court. Now, after playing in a series of Futures events -- two levels beneath top pro events -- from the Dominican Republic to England, Strode is three wins away from claiming a place in the U.S. Open that starts Aug. 30 in New York. “Even during the tough times, I felt this is the time to be doing what I’m doing,” Strode said in a telephone interview from his family’s home in suburban St. Louis. “I really am playing because it’s what I want to be doing, and because I love tennis.” The 23-year-old Strode is playing in the 128-man U.S. Open qualifying tournament that begins today. His first match will be tomorrow against Britain’s Alex Bogdanovic, 26, who is ranked 217th in the world. Sixteen qualifiers automatically make it into the main draw for the U.S. Open. Strode, who was an All-American at the University of Arkansas while majoring in international economics and Spanish, said he knew since high school that he eventually would have to make a choice between academics and athletics. State ChampionHe was valedictorian at Missouri’s Pattonville High School and a state tennis champion. At Arkansas, he reached the semifinals of the National Collegiate Athletic Association singles tournament as a senior while getting accepted at four law schools -- Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Georgetown University in Washington; Columbia University in New York, and New York University. “We knew law school was where he was going to end up and we knew his love for tennis, so we knew someday these things were going to collide,” his mother, Angela, said in a telephone interview. “You live your life once so you’ve got to go for it, you don’t want to be looking over your shoulder.” Strode’s father, Lester, who was 46-52 as a minor-league pitcher, has been the bullpen coach coach factory outlet online for Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs since 2007. His mother is a parent counselor. The one condition his parents demanded was that Strode take the Law School Admission Test and apply to schools before trying the pro tennis circuit. Once he got accepted to Harvard in early 2009, Strode said, he applied for a one-year deferral and then coach outlet store got a second deferral this year. Deferral Rates Deferrals are not unusual at Harvard Law School, where about 12 percent of applicants are accepted, according to Assistant Dean for Admissions Josh Rubenstein. About 15 percent of this year’s coach online outlet incoming class at Harvard Law School are students who deferred their enrollment, Rubenstein said in a telephone interview. The maximum for deferment is usually two years, he said, though it can be longer. “We’re very much in favor of deferred students going out and getting interesting life experiences that will contribute to the classroom,” Rubenstein said. Robert Cox, tennis coach at Arkansas for the last 23 years, said Strode is the “total student-athlete” who is just as devoted in the classroom as he is on a tennis court. “I really, really respect Harvard for allowing Blake to pursue this dream of his,” Cox said in a telephone interview. “The only drawback Harvard has is if Blake does too well, he’ll never want to go to law school.” Strode was a member of National Junior Tennis and Learning, a U.S. Tennis Association program to build character through tennis, since he was 6 years old. Tuition vs. TennisStrode is ranked No. 641 in the world in singles, with a record of 16-12 this year in International Tennis Federation Futures events and earnings of $3,190, according to the ATP Tour’s website. The 2010-11 academic year at Harvard Law costs $45,450 in tuition plus estimated living expenses of $24,650, according to the school’s website. Futures tournaments are the lowest rung of the pro tennis ladder. The ATP Tour is the highest level for men, followed by Challenger events. The ATP’s website describes Futures events as “the proving ground for top-ranked juniors, college players and pros at the beginning of their careers.” They offer $10,000- $15,000 in prize money. 2009 QualifyingStrode won a Futures tournament in Joplin, Missouri, last year coachoutletonline to earn a spot in the 2009 U.S. Open qualifying, where he lost 6-3, 6-1 to Alexandre Sidorenko of France in the first round. He earned his way back to the qualifying tournament this year by winning the U.S. Open National Playoffs. That triumph, in Atlanta in late July, came after a summer largely spent overseas. In mid-June, after winning $290 in a clay-court tournament in Rabat, Morocco, he had to hitch a ride on an 18-wheeler to get to the airport. The trucker left him with his bags and his rackets at an intersection, pointing down a long stretch of highway. “It was just the most bizarre, surreal experience,” Strode said. Strode’s long-term goal is to become a judge. If he’s on the Futures level for much longer, he said, law school will become his top priority. “But if I’m 25 and I’m No. 10 in the world,” he said, “you’re looking at a different situation.” Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. LEARN MORE