Schorr awaits collegiate debut

The CNMI’s Robbie Schorr is now in Missouri waiting for his collegiate debut with the William Woods University. (Contributed Photo)

The CNMI’s Robbie Schorr has been included on the 13-man roster of the William Woods University men’s tennis team for the 2020-2021 season.

Schorr is one of six rookies on the Owls’ lineup and has attended a few online meetings of the team since leaving Saipan last Aug. 3 to begin a new journey in his promising tennis career as well as his pursuit for higher education.

“I won’t be going to campus until Aug. 17 because I have to do a two-week quarantine somewhere off campus. I’ve had a couple zoom calls with the team and have a group chat so I think that was a good way to get to know them before classes start,” said Schorr, who will major in Exercise Science at the Fulton, Missouri-based university.

There’s no schedule yet for the new tennis season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but when training sessions or competitions begin, the Pacific Games gold medalist will treat his debut in the collegiate ranks the same way he approached his games in the CNMI and in Pacific Oceania.

“I’m going to approach it like any other year, hard work on and off the court, try to perform at the highest level each time, and support my team,” Schorr said.

The three-time Tan Siu Lin Foundation/Northern Marianas Sports Association Male Student Atlete of the Year awardee was in the first batch of William Woods’ new recruits, joining Montenegro’s Mladen Novovic, Czech Republic’s Vitek Subert, Kansas’ Landon Hover, and Houston’s Isaiah Buse. Australia’s Benjamin Grumley completed the Owls’ freshmen players list after signing with William Woods in May.

“Schorr is another international kid who came and visited all the way from Saipan. I couldn’t be happier that he did. He comes from a great family and a hardworking family. They are really genuine and I have great confidence is his ability to step in for the seniors that have graduated,” said William Woods coach Chance Joost, who will call the shots for the Owls for the first time.

Rounding out William Woods’ roster for the 2020-2021 season are seniors Jack Campbell, Nathan Cooke, Zach Frisbie, Corey Hockenbury, and Aaron Westerlund, junior Patrick Shelepov, and graduate student Maurice Bauens.

The Owls compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and is grouped with Central Baptist, Columbia College, Hannibal-LaGrange, Harris-Stowe State, Lyon College, Missouri Baptist, Saint Louis College, Stephens College, and William Baptist in the American Midwest Conference. William Woods also plays in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals, which is usually scheduled in the last quarter of the year after the regular season that begins in February.

Before the 2019-2020 season was canceled due to the pandemic, the Owls had an impressive 5-2 record, beating William Jewell College, 6-1; Quincy, 5-2; Campsbellesville University, 4-0; Illinois Springfield, 4-3; and PcPherson College, 5-2. William Woods absorbed its two losses at the hands of Tennessee Wesleyan, 2-5, and Reinhardt, 1-4. The Owls were also ranked No. 12 in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll after winning over McPherson before the remaining games of the season were scrapped.