This is taken from the Nor Cal USTA Web Page.
NorCal’s Matt Solomon and his mother, Joan Oloff won the USTA National Mother Son Indoor Championships held March 16-18, 2012. They did not drop a set until the finals where they beat the #1 seeds from San Diego, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. The win earned them both their first Gold Ball.
The USTA National Mother-Son Indoor Championships have been played at the South Barrington Club located in a Northwestern Chicago suburb for the past nine years. The club is one of the first indoor tennis facilities in the Chicago area.
Joan raised three kids in Los Gatos where she still lives. Together, they spent many years on the junior tennis tournament circuit. All three kids went on to play college tennis and each has been the number one player on their college team.
Most of Matt’s college tennis was played at Whitman College, a small liberal arts school in Washington State. He also played one season (my junior year) at Boise State during the team’s run to the NCAA Sweet 16; the team ended the year ranked in the national top 20. Matt’s older brother, Daniel played for Colorado College and younger sister, Jamie, is currently a junior and playing at Pomona Pitzer College in Southern California.
The last time Matt and Joan competed together was in 2007. They took a hiatus due to schedule conflicts while Matt was playing in college.
“I hadn’t thought of playing mother-son tournaments the past few years, but I have been playing a fair amount recently” Matt said. He recently competed at the NorCal Combo Doubles League Section Championships as a member of the Olympic Club 9.5 team. “My mom brought up the idea and I was happy to go along with it.”
Joan is a 4.0 NTRP player with plenty of tournament and league experience, “Playing with my son(s) is the greatest gift they could offer me. Like many tennis parents, we juggled driving our kids almost every weekend on what I used to call the NorCal Junior Circuit. They may not verbalize it at the time, but these kids absolutely appreciate the sacrifice that their parents make over the years.” She added, “To share the court and team up with any of my kids is a great honor for me.”
She has seen her parental role with her son reversed when on the tennis court. “Matt’s experience on the court is far greater than mine. He became the leader of the team and I followed his direction to the best of my ability. He encouraged me to stay focused, supported me when I needed help, and uplifted my spirits when he sensed I needed it,” Joan said.
In 2006, the mother/son duo won a silver ball and sportsmanship honors at the same Indoor National Championships. They’ve competed twice at National Hard Court Championships held in San Diego, placing 4th one year. Matt’s older brother, Daniel played for Colorado College, has played a few tournaments with their mom, but they have yet to win a ball. Younger sister, Jamie, is currently a junior and playing at Pomona Pitzer College in Southern California.
Joan considers the experience of playing the national championships with her son a blessing and winning the gold ball, a dream. She said, “We have created joyful memories that will surely last a lifetime. I would encourage more moms to join their sons at these events. Nothing I could ever do on a tennis court will surpass this moment.”
The Solomon siblings are all hoping that USTA will create a National Championship for brother/brother and brother/sister combinations in the future. As for Matt and Joan, Matt concluded, “We’re not sure if we’ll play in a mother-son tournament again. I might want to go out on top!”
