Lehigh University Athletics
The Net Advantage
10/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
A person who strives to make the most of his gifts, says Ty Esler ’05, the top-ranked player on Lehigh’s men’s tennis team, can learn to excel in the face of a seeming disadvantage. Esler, who stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, knows from experience he will give away a few inches in height to most opponents on the court. But he has become the top-ranked singles and doubles player on Lehigh’s men’s tennis team. Height might give players more leverage on serves and greater extension reaching for the ball, Esler says, but it is not everything. “Tennis is very physical and intense,” says Esler, who took up the sport when he was 13. “So much of tennis depends on timing. I can hit the ball as hard as anyone, and I’d like to think my conditioning and my quickness are usually superior.” Esler, who is president of Lehigh’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, has a deeper commitment. “I feel like I have a purpose in tennis. God gave me athletic skills. I have to use them to the best of my abilities in order to glorify God.” Head Coach Dave Shook couldn’t be happier to have a player and a person of Esler’s stature on his team. “Ty is one of the most focused and dedicated players that we have ever had enroll at Lehigh. He is an excellent student and a great tennis player. His ability to win the Patriot League's first ever Sportsmanship of the Year Award as a freshman is a credit to him and his family. Ty ascended to the #1 singles spot as a freshman, and the experience he gained will make him a force to recon with in the Patriot League." The same purpose has inspired Esler to enroll in Lehigh’s honors program in Integrated Business and Engineering. The highly selective IBE program, offered by the College of Business and Economics and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, seeks students “who are not afraid to work hard” and is designed to give future corporate leaders a solid foundation in management and technology. The four-year program, which leads to a B.S. in integrated business and engineering, requires 30 credits in math and science, 20 in engineering, 33 in business and economics, 12 in IBE courses, and 15 in humanities. Students must also show proficiency in a foreign language. The program stresses hands-on, real-world experience. In the IBE Freshman Workshop course, teams of students design products, make prototypes and develop marketing plans. In a course Esler is taking this fall, students run simulated businesses on a software program, figuring costs, setting prices, and crafting advertising and product-development plans. “I like the focus on teamwork and management,” says Esler. “It teaches you things you need in the business world.” IBE students pick a major in an engineering discipline. Esler has chosen electrical engineering and plans to complete a B.S. in EE by attending Lehigh for a tuition-free fifth year through the Presidential Scholarship program, which is open to students with a 3.5 GPA. Esler’s GPA is 3.63. “I like a challenge,” says Esler. “I also like the fact that the IBE program opens a lot of doors. I enjoy science and technology, but I’m not sure what I want to do after I graduate. I might work as an engineer then go to law school to study intellectual property law. Or I might work for a technical company with a financial background. “IBE gives you a strong base in everything.”
