"MOM ALWAYS KNOWS BEST"

by Aaron Gray
agray@digitalsports.com

In the relatively quiet game of tennis, the different sounds heard can tell a player a lot.

The ball hitting the racket or skidding across the court. The shuffling of feet on the surface. The yell from a linesman that a shot or serve was out or just the simple score being muttered between competitors.

Severna Park High School graduate Patrick Rice has never been able to fully hear any of those sounds. The Pasadena resident and recent high school graduate has suffered from severe to profound hearing loss in both ears since birth but he never let the absence of sound affect his game and that's why he is the Anne Arundel County male winner of the DigitalSports Applause Scholarship for the spring.

The DigitalSports Applause Scholarship is awarded in the amount of $500 toward the college education of an outstanding senior student-athlete who has exhibited great courage in overcoming adversity in order to make a positive contribution to his or her team.

In 2007-2008, DigitalSports has named 22 Applause Scholarship winners in the Baltimore area, representing more than $11,000 in scholarship awards. Winners have come from Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties, as well as Baltimore City, the MIAA and the IAAM.

"It was never a big deal for me," Rice said Monday while standing outside the tennis courts at his alma mater. "I started playing when I was 5 so it's always been pretty natural."

Rice started his education at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. where he was enrolled in the elementary school program. In the seventh grade, he started to attend a public middle school in Severna Park and eventually worked his way up to four advanced-placement high school courses this past year. He finished his high school career with a 3.9 grade-point average and he scored a 1,200 on his SATs.

"Patrick is a very bright kid," Rice's mother, Cathy, said during an interview last year. "I found that with deafness, he can focus more on what he's doing and it gets rid of all the distractions, for instance, on a tennis court."

Frustration did set in during those early years and Rice quit playing tennis when he was 9. But before he entered the seventh grade and a new middle school, his mother convinced him to pick up a racquet again.

"You know the saying: Mom always knows best," said Rice, who will attend Furman University in the fall and wants to study business and graphic design.

From there, Rice improved on his communication skills and he said the other kids in his school treated him equally. He used tennis as a tool and quickly gained other friends, he said. When he entered high school, he found himself playing doubles, another obstacle he and his teammates would have to overcome.

"Hand signs played a big part," said Rice, who can read lips and uses a sign-language interrupter on a day-to-day basis. "There are more ways to communicate than just talking."

For example, when Rice's doubles partner, Ben Rosenthal, served, Rice would stand in front of the net and flash hand signs behind his back. The signs referenced where he thought Rosenthal should serve. The recommendation would usually warrant a jump on the opposing team's return.

"Hand signals are a big thing," Rosenthal said in an interview last season. "It's more of a tennis strategy than anything. A lot of pros and college players do it. When Pat is serving, I will flash him a hand signal to let him know where to serve and what I'm going to do after he hits it and he does the same when I'm serving."

Rosenthal and Rice did not drop a single set against county competition during a majority of their junior and senior seasons together. Communication between them was tough at first but the pair developed a camaraderie and it showed on the court as they high-fived after every single point, regardless of which team it was awarded to.

During their junior season, they captured the Anne Arundel County championship title in convincing fashion, 6-4, 6-1. They also took the region crown, which pitted the Top 4 finalists from the county championship and the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference and advanced to the state semifinals.

"They were a strong team and they played together," said Severna Park tennis coach Kathy Zingler, whose Falcons put together an undefeated regular season in 2008 and captured the county championship.

Before the postseason this past spring, however, the tandem broke up as Rosenthal teamed up with Kevin Zingler in the doubles competition and Rice started to fly solo. Rice showed his range and took third in the boys singles at the county championship with a comeback 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over teammate Aaron Littlejohn. His run ended in the quarterfinals of the region tournament.

"It was a great season and a great high school career," Rice said.

It was so good that he decided to take it to the next level. Rice has been in contact with the tennis coaches at Furman and he plans to walk-on to the team. A heavy workout schedule this summer will help Rice improve his speed and get to the Division I-caliber he knows he can achieve.

"It's been a lot of working out and running," Rice said.

Said Zingler: "Patrick has proved that he can overcome a lot. He's a great player and deserves only the best."