At the age of 85, Jack Kennedy, the first Lobo Tennis All-American and a devoted and longtime supporter of the program, departed from this life.
The season-opening home tournament was dubbed “The Jack Kennedy Classic” by the Lobo Tennis program last year in honor of Kennedy’s lifetime commitment to the game as a player and supporter. The Jack Kennedy Classic is scheduled for January 19–21 and will include New Mexico, Cal Poly, and East Tennessee State.
Kennedy became the first men’s tennis All-American at UNM when he won the title in 1958. Although the Lobo records from the program’s Skyline Conference days aren’t very extensive, some of Kennedy’s achievements are probably unmatched. He went unbeaten his freshman year and never lost a match. If freshmen could have played that year, he could have taken home the NCAA championship. Kennedy wasn’t, so Jack participated in the 1957 Canadian Grass Court Circuit and won a tournament up north at the suggestion and encouragement of Pete McDavid, the athletic director at the time.
He was selected from 1957 to 1960 and was UNM’s first four-year All-Conference honoree. He had won the Skyline singles titles in 1957 and 1958, placed second in 1959, and advanced to the quarterfinals in 1960.
Kennedy went on to become a dentist after his playing days and retired in 1998. He divided his retirement years between France, the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, and Albuquerque. Kennedy began playing tennis after injuring his collar bone while playing football. He was born and raised in Albuquerque, close to the intersection of Carlisle and Lomas.
Kennedy went on to win the Southwest Juniors Tournament, but despite having other options to play tennis elsewhere, he chose to attend UNM in Albuquerque, partly because he wanted to be near his future wife, Susan. After graduating from Highland High School together, he and Susan were married for 63 years.
