Athlete Spotlight: James Wood Tennis Player Fae Schweitzer

Posted: April 9, 2013

James High School 16-year-old junior

Sport: Tennis

Position: No. 1 singles and doubles

Parents: Donna and Bob Schweitzer

Hometown: Winchester

Nicknames: A lot of people call me “Faygo” because of the soda. Also “Fae Baby.” No particular reason. They both just kind of happened.

When did you start playing tennis: I was eight years old. I was in gymnastics, but my mom pulled me out of that because I kept hurting myself. She said, ‘We need to put you in a safer sport,’ so I was looking around for something that might be interesting to me, and I saw tennis. When I first picked up a racquet, I knew I was going to like it a lot.

What you love about tennis: I like it because it’s about independence. It’s not a team sport.

Biggest strength and weakness in tennis: [Strength], my speed. I’m just really quick on my feet and I can get to the ball really fast. [Weakness], probably listening to my doubles partner. I’m not very good with criticism.

Sport you always wanted to try: Lacrosse. I like that there’s not a lot of rules. You can just do whatever you want really.

Most memorable moment in tennis: That just happened [on Wednesday] against Skyline. I had a really intense point with their No. 1 girl, and I ended up winning. (Schweitzer also won the match 11-10, 7-5 tiebreak.) It was a really long rally, we were going back and forth, and we were making each other run around a lot. She lobbed it over my head, and I had to run back, circle the ball and get it. It was one of those moments where you want to put your arms up and run around the court. Of course, I didn’t do that.

Most embarrassing moment in tennis: I was really little and I was just learning how to keep score. I got really frustrated with myself, because I kept on forgetting what the score was. I got to the point where when I served the ball, I just threw my racquet across the court, and it went over the net and almost hit [my opponent]. I got really red in the face.

Favorite athlete: My brother Thom. He’s really good at hockey, and he almost got into the Junior Olympics. I really like hockey too and used to play when I was little. I always looked up to him and really like the way he plays.

Favorite sports team: Pittsburgh Penguins

Three people you can have dinner with, dead or alive: [Musician] Paul McCartney, [actor] Leonardo DiCaprio, and [musician] Janis Joplin. Paul McCartney, I’ve always loved The Beatles, ever since I was little. Janis Joplin, I feel like we’d have a lot of crazy conversations. And Leonardo DiCaprio is my favorite actor.

Favorite Quote: “The earth doesn’t belong to us. We belong to the earth.” I like it because it’s true.

Favorite subject in school: Science. There’s a lot of topics that you can learn about. You can learn about astronomy, environmental sciences. I really like astronomy particularly because you can keep learning about it. There’s no end to it.

Pregame routine/ritual: I just stretch and run.

Plans after high school: After high school I plan on going to [Lord Fairfax Community College] for two years, and then hopefully transferring to Colorado State University. I want to study zoology and probably photography. Zoology, I’ve been in love with animals forever. I’ve always loved animals more than people, because I can get along with them way easier. And the only reason I love photography is because I want to work for the National Geographic magazine, and travel around and take pictures.

— Compiled by Robert Niedzwiecki