The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1436409
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 ■ 47 matches, which is still tied for the single- season record at NC State. He also owns the third-highest winning percentage in singles and second-highest mark in doubles at NC State. Andrews is also the only three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All- American from the Wolfpack, claiming those honors in both singles and doubles in 1980, and doubles again a year later. What Andrews may remember best, though, is when he was a freshman hitting the winning shot to secure NC State's first ACC team title. "You can't forget those moments," he noted. "Those are some of the coolest mo- ments you'll ever have." More Success As A Pro Andrews' success on the court at NC State, attained after facing his parents with the decision not to go to North Carolina, helped him understand the possibilities in life. "You realize if I did that, maybe I can do this or do some other things," he noted. He tried to turn pro after his junior year, and his father's reaction echoed the response to his decision to attend NC State in the first place. "Over my dead body," is what Andrews recalled him saying. Thus, Andrews began negotiating with his father, whom he called "the most important person in my life." The deal they agreed to after an hour of conversation was that when his eligibility was up, he could go try to play tennis. If he made the top 100 in the world or reached $100,000 in earnings, he would continue playing. Otherwise, he would have to go to law school. Being a collegiate All-American, An- drews was able to find a good agent, and they devised a plan to attend less-competi- tive tournaments to earn points and improve his ranking. "My choices were India, Africa or Mex- ico," Andrews recalled. "We decided on Mexico. I had to go down to Mexico for five weeks. I ended up winning that tour in singles and doubles, and my ranking got in the top 100. But it was brutally difficult down there with tough conditions." Having successfully made good on his deal with his father, Andrews eventually rose to No. 78 in singles, but his best success came in doubles. "I was better in doubles," Andrews said. "I was a little slower afoot. When you get to the level I got to, you needed to be a little better athlete, a little quicker. … If I hit the ball more than four times in a point, I had a 90 percent chance of losing the point in singles because they were just too good. "And in doubles, I had a sixth sense. I was really good in doubles." He and fellow NC State alum John Sadri made the finals of the 1982 Australian Open doubles competition, and he teamed with Sadri to win two events that year in the United States. He also formed a good part- nership with American Drew Gitlin to win a tournament in France in 1982 and reach the finals of one in Los Angeles. "But there was no money in doubles," Andrews said. "When I mean there was no money in doubles, there was no money in doubles. I can't explain to you how little money there was. But it was still an honor to be out there, and I had a great time." Ultimately, competing on the biggest stage and traveling the world highlighted Andrews' experience. "Being able to say you played all the Grand Slams in singles and doubles, there's not many people that can say they've done that," he noted. A broken thumb led to Andrews' retire- ment from playing, but he never left the sport. He was selected to the Southern Ten- nis Hall of Fame in September and is al- ready in the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. He has remained active in various tennis organizations, including the United States Tennis Association Board of Directors. "You didn't do it for the money," Andrews said. "There was no money when I was playing. I got to the third round of the Aus- tralian Open and the finals in doubles, and I made $19,000. Today I would have made almost $2 million doing that same thing. "You did it for the love of the game, and you got to travel around the world. I wasn't good enough to do it today. I wasn't that good of an athlete — I couldn't dunk a ten- nis ball, and I was 6-2 1 ⁄2. I had no ups, but I had a lot of heart." A Second Dream Come True Tennis is far from Andrews' only success story. When traveling the world, he didn't have televisions, cellphones or the internet to keep him occupied. After practices, he had to find something to do with his time, and he was on the road 42 weeks a year, often in countries where English was not widely spoken. In major international cities like Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Paris, London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto and Montreal, Andrews found himself wandering into the buildings and growing infatuated with the architecture. In 1987, he pursued his new passion and went to work for the Daniel Corporation, ris- ing through the ranks to senior vice president. After a chance to take over the company fell through, Andrews started his own ven- ture, Dominion Realty Partners, LLC. The company has grown im- mensely in less than two decades, and Andrews was named the CEO of the Year by the Triangle Business Journal in 2019. "We've been the De- veloper of the Year in North Carolina and South Carolina, and we've had a great time," An- drews said. "We've got great employees, and I have great partners." Dominion Realty has done $3 billion worth of development, including high-rises in Charlotte and Raleigh, but Andrews is most proud of having employed 38,000 people with good-paying jobs. He's also focused on doing green-certified projects. "Not too many people get to go live out their dream, and I'm fortunate enough to live out two dreams, one in tennis and one in my business," he concluded. Andrews attributes a lot of his success to that fateful decision to come to NC State. He still talks to Isenhour on a near-daily basis, and the indoor courts at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center on NC State's campus are named in Andrews' honor. "I couldn't have gotten where I am to- day in business if I hadn't gone to State, and played and learned how to compete and prob- lem-solve," he said. ■ " Not too many people get to go live out their dream, and I'm fortunate enough to live out two dreams, one in tennis and one in my business. Andrews "