This former Fairview boys tennis coach gets call, joins brother in Metro Erie Hall of Fame
One in a series of profiles from the Erie Times-News on Metropolitan Erie Sports Hall of Fame’s 2023 class.
It was early spring when Rick and Lisa Sertz were on vacation in Annapolis, Maryland.
The couple spent much of their day touring the grounds of the United States Naval Academy.
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Before this year, that was normally a time when Rick Sertz, a member of the Metropolitan Erie Sports Hall of Fame’s 2023 class, would have been in the early stages of coaching Fairview’s boys tennis team.
That rite ended when the 62-year-old resigned in May 2022 after a 24-year tenure. The Tigers went 372-77 over that span, won 18 District 10 team titles and reached the 2010 PIAA Class 2A championship dual.
Sertz mentioned recent health issues, plus a desire to spend more time traveling, as reasons for his decision.
However, tennis returned as a presence on that day for Sertz. He and his wife were at a bar called the Iron Rooster when they received a phone call.
It was from Ron Sertz, a member of the hall’s 2017 class, who informed his younger brother he also would be inducted.
“It was pretty special hearing that from him,” Rick Sertz said. “He’s already a Hall of Famer and someone I’ve admired for many years. I learned a lot from him about organization and planning.”
Hall officials will need to update Rick Sertz’s online biography despite his June 28 enshrinement at the Zem Zem Shrine Club. His decision to leave Fairview’s boys tennis program was a resignation, not a retirement.
Sertz plans to resume coaching the Tigers’ girls tennis team, which plays in the fall, at least for the near future. He’s held that role since 2012.
As a player, Sertz competed for Mercyhurst University, where he graduated in 1983. He also was a frequent participant in City Rec tennis tournaments throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Many of those City Rec matches were held at Frontier Park’s courts.
“Growing up in Erie, there’s iconic places like Veterans Stadium for football, Hammermill Center doubleheaders for basketball and Frontier for big tennis matches,” Sertz said. “I think about all the great teachers that I saw play (there).”
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Touting more tennis inductees
Sertz is only the third person to be enshrined primarily for their tennis background.
The late Byron Baur, an Academy graduate who coached the University of Pittsburgh men’s tennis team, was a member of its inaugural class in 1986.
Kelly Erven Maslar join the hall in 1996. The Mercyhurst Prep graduate received two PIAA gold medals as a player and four more as coach of her alma mater’s program.
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Sertz would like some of the local tennis greats before him receive the same honor he will this month.
“There’s some names out there who have been integral to the growth and history of tennis in Erie,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who are really worthy of being (inducted).”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fairview tennis coach Rick Sertz to join brother in Erie Hall of Fame
