Wake Forest Athletics
Where Are They Now: Andy Avram
3/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 15, 2011
This article was originally published in the Feb. 26 edition of Gold Rush.
In each issue of Gold Rush, "Where Are They Now" features former Wake Forest student-athletes. This issue highlights former men's tennis player Andy Avram.
While at Wake Forest under the guidance of the legendary coach Jim Leighton, Avram was a No. 1 seed player who was the Yearly Singles Leader in 1982 and the Yearly Doubles Leader in 1980 with Allen Farfour and in 1982 with Gray Yancey.
In addition to competing for Wake Forest, Avram also traveled nationwide and to Canada to compete in tournaments.
When did you graduate from Wake Forest?
1982; 1990 - JD
What was your major and/or minor?
Politics; JD
What does being a Demon Deacon mean to you?
I really am proud to be a Deacon. There are not too many of us out there, and I think that everyone who went to Wake Forest is extremely loyal to the school.
Why are you still involved in Wake Forest Athletics?
Our family really enjoys following all of the Deacon sports, and we have a great time going to the football, basketball and tennis matches.
Why do you feel it is important to give back to the University?
Wake Forest and the late, great tennis coach, Jim Leighton, were so good to me that it only seems natural, and the right thing to do, to give back to the school. I am really excited about the new tennis complex that is going to be built for the men's and women's tennis teams, as well as serving as a site for a major professional tennis tournament that will take place the week before the U.S. Open. I hope that, one day, this site will also host the NCAA tennis tournament. I believe that it is going to be a tennis complex that will be one of the top collegiate facilities in the country.
What is your current occupation?
Attorney/Partner -- Cranfill, Sumner and Hartzog in Charlotte
What is your favorite memory of your time at Wake Forest?
I grew up in Winston-Salem following Wake Forest sports, so I am going to have to change this to some of my favorite overall memories. As a boy, I really enjoyed going to the basketball games and watching players such as Charlie Davis, Skip Brown and Rod Griffin as they battled ACC greats like Charlie Scott and David Thompson. Coach Leighton taught me tennis as a junior player, and he had a team in the early 70s that had two Australians, Jim Haslam and Garry Cooper, two Czechs, Peter Pospisil and Eddy Prybil, one Jamaican Audley Bell and two Americans, Dean Mathias and Bob Koury, who I really enjoyed watching. They were a real colorful and talented team who also gave back to the Winston-Salem tennis community by hitting with the junior players at Hanes Park. This team hosted the ACC tennis tournament one year at WFU, and the great Maryland basketball player John Lucas also played tennis for Maryland, and he was an excellent player. Comedian Bill Cosby once had a comedy show at WFU, and he was also a tennis player, so Coach Leighton set up an exhibition match on campus with Cosby and some of the tennis team, and the stands were packed. Mr. Cosby was a really funny guy even on the courts. It was also a honor to meet Arthur Ashe at Wake Forest in the late 1980s when he spoke at Wait Chapel during his book tour.
What makes you most proud of Wake Forest?
It is a small school with great academics but still plays big-time collegiate sports with integrity.
When you come back to Wake Forest, you always...
head to the quad, and if we have time, the student center. It seems like we are always heading to a game.
I was there when...
our football team beat Georgia, Auburn and went to the Tangerine Bowl. Dr Scales was the president then, and he was also a big tennis supporter who came to a lot of the matches. I had dinner one evening with Dr. Scales and Chip Koury at Bell Brothers (a meat and two-veggie place near the Winston-Salem airport), which was a lot of fun. Dr. Scales was a wonderful, humble man.
Who is your favorite coach at Wake Forest, current or past?
Coach Jim Leighton -- he had such great passion for the game, and if you wanted to learn, he was ready to help no matter what level the player. Many of his former players went on to teach tennis, coach teams and are tennis players for life. He was really fascinated with stroke technique, and he had many different ways to teach each shot, depending on your skill level, and just about every tennis player in North Carolina at some point, took lessons from him in the `70s and `80s. He is in the WFU Hall of Fame, NC Tennis Hall of Fame and Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. I look forward to Coach Leighton being recognized at the new tennis facility and would encourage anyone interested in helping make that happen to contact the Deacon Club at (336) 758-5626.
