High school tennis: Ball drop tradition a permanent fixture for Rampants

The J.H. Rose tennis program is paying into the future while also making sure no one forgets about the past.

The Rampants on Thursday observed the annual Liz Upton Ball Drop fundraiser event in honor of the former longtime coach of both the boys’ and girls’ Rose teams who died of breast cancer.

The event, which runs in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, has become a fixture in the program. The 50-50 raffle gives 50 percent of the money to the winner, 25 to the Liz Upton Scholarship fund and 25 to the Cancer Services of ENC.

“It’s very important to me, and that’s why we make sure we do it every year,” said Rose tennis coach Marvin Hardy, who was an assistant coach with Upton before ultimately taking the reins of the program following Upton’s passing in 2017. “It’s a great cause.”

Hardy said when he took over the team, he and his players were tasked with taking on a community service project.

He said it was a quick and easy decision, and the Ball Drop, where entrants pay $5 per ball for the raffle, was born.

“I don’t want people to forget her,” Hardy said of Upton, who was named coach of the year 27 times in her tenure.

Upton was also a physical education teacher during her 20-year tenure at Rose.

The Liz Upton Scholarship is awarded annually to one J.H. Rose girls’ tennis player.