Keuka College tennis captain Justin Roe has spent the off-season preparing his teammates and himself for the upcoming season, his senior season.     

Coming off a historic year for the Storm, the Port Byron native hopes to one-up his previous performances on the court. In his junior year, Roe broke Keuka's record for most doubles wins in a season with 10.  

Roe was also included on the All-North Eastern Athletic Conference team for singles and doubles in his junior season. As a sophomore, Roe was honored with the Keuka Tennis Coach's Award, which goes to the team's hardest worker. He also was given the Keuka College Rookie of the Year Award as a freshman. 

He is now the only four-year senior on the squad.

Not bad for a kid who one day just decided he wanted to play tennis as a freshman in high school. During his first three years at Dana L. West High School, Roe played singles for Port Byron. Admitting he wasn't in the right shape for singles, he stepped up for the team when needed and switched to doubles. 

As a senior, a year that the Port Byron tennis program was nearly cut from the school budget, Roe helped the Panthers win the league title with an 11-2 record. He also brought Port Byron its first-ever tennis Section III championship with a win over CBA. 

“Winning the doubles championship was something I never imagined,” Roe said. “To beat an undefeated CBA team was an amazing feat. That is a memory I will always have.”

Roe wasn't even sure he would continue his tennis career after high school.

“I never imagined I'd be a collegiate tennis player, but I've taken many steps to get to the point I am today in my tennis career,” he said.

Whenever Roe isn't running his team practices in the fall and working on his game, he likes to keep himself involved in the Keuka College and Port Byron communities. He represents his tennis team on Keuka's Student Athletics Advisory Board, a panel made up of student-athletes who meet on a weekly basis to discuss ways in which they can better the campus community and NCAA Division III through different types of work and services. 

Roe was also selected to represent Keuka tennis in Philadelphia this past October in a NCAA Division III conference. 

When he is home on breaks from school, Roe works as a substitute teacher in the Port Byron School District, a field that he may want to pursue later in life. He also works at Champions for Life in Auburn, giving tennis lessons to children. 

“Getting kids active, not just in tennis but in any sport, at a young age is important for development so it's something I enjoy doing.” Roe said. “Working with kids is a lot of fun and teaching lessons gave me the opportunity to become a better tennis player.”

Roe said he's also learned a lot from Mike Henty, the owner of Champions for Life, as well as Dan Sullivan, another instructor and student-athlete at Le Moyne College. He also spent the summer playing against Division I talent, which has improved his mental game and helped him develop a variety of shots. 

Over the years, he has seen his school grades improve just as much as his tennis game. Roe often struggled with his grades in high school, but now finds himself on Keuka's Dean's List. He is now considering going to law school, or joining an AmeriCorps program in Texas where he would teach and coach children who grow up in poverty-stricken areas. 

As he heads into his final season of his tennis career, Roe is closing in on yet another Keuka College record, this one in overall wins. He has a 32-14 career record.

But his goals remain centered around his team.

“Overall, I'm hoping for a conference championship for our tennis team as a whole,” he said. “We have a great team this year and if we play well enough, we can win our conference. Going out as a winner my senior year would be great.”