Mercer, Cash Make Double Commitment for Ohio State
by Rhiannon Potkey, 18 October 2018
After getting home from a workout and showering,
Robert Cash sent a text message to
J.J. Mercer just to check in.
The doubles partners were coming down to the final days before making their college commitments. Cash and Mercer had discussed playing at the same college, but didn’t want to force anything. The blue chip seniors wanted to find the right fit for each individual.
Robert Cash and J.J. Mercer Are Signing With Ohio State
Mercer texted back saying he had committed to
Ohio State earlier in the day. As fate would have it, Cash was preparing to have dinner with the Ohio State coaches that night to let them know he wanted to be a Buckeye.
“It was really just a coincidence we committed on the same day. It wasn’t planned at all,” Cash said. “We decided we were going to look at different schools, but it turned out Ohio State worked out best for us both.”
Born and raised in New Albany, Ohio, Cash’s attraction to Ohio State was nearly a birthright.
“Growing up, I always dreamed of playing there. I went to all the matches and saw those guys playing on the first two courts and pictured myself there,” said Cash, who also considered
Stanford. “I guess it’s kind of fulfilling one of my childhood dreams.”
Mercer’s connection to college tennis runs deep in the bloodlines. His father, John Mercer, is the women’s head coach at
Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. His mother, Laurie, was previously the head coach at Marshall.
John played at
Penn State and Laurie played at
Furman. Mercer’s uncles starred at
TCU,
Texas and
West Virginia, and his older sister, Cassie, plays at
Virginia.
Mercer solicited advice from his entire family as he narrowed down his own college options to Ohio State,
Michigan,
North Carolina and
Virginia.
“My parents had a good sense of communicating with the coaches and setting up visits, but the men’s side only having 4 ½ scholarships was kind of a new world to them,” Mercer said. “The girls side is a lot easier because you either get a full scholarship or not. They were helpful, but they really let me do my own thing and figure the best choice for me.”
Blue Chip Senior J.J. Mercer from Huntington, West Virginia
©
Paul Ballard
Despite his family’s lineage in tennis, Mercer didn’t fully commit to the sport until he was older. He played travel baseball through age 14, and was a member of his high school baseball team as recently as last spring.
“I realized I finally had to retire my baseball dream now to be ready to play tennis in college,” Mercer said. “I really enjoy playing baseball, but I felt like tennis provided the best opportunity for me and I developed more of a love for it the more I got attached to it.”
Along with his older sister, Mercer’s younger siblings - A.J. and Sammie - also play tennis.
A.J. is a blue chip seventh grader. Their parents have always been their coaches.
“As you can imagine, there are not many people in Huntington, West Virginia to practice with so it’s basically just us and my parents,” J.J. Mercer said. “There are a lot of practices where it’s a little family gathering and we practice together every single day.”
Like Mercer, Cash was drawn into tennis by his family. His older siblings, C.J. and Alexandra, both played.
“Growing up, I remember traveling to all their tournaments and all I wanted to do was be able to be there one day and be able to hang with them,” Cash said. “That was a big factor for me in picking up the sport by age 3 or 4.”
Blue Chip Senior Robert Cash from New Albany, Ohio
©
Paul Ballard
Cash considers his brother, a senior at
Loyola University Maryland, as an integral part of his success over the years.
“He was a huge, huge influence and a role model for me. I always loved to play with him, and he pushed me to become better,” Cash said. “We had a brotherly rivalry. I always wanted to beat him, but he was four years older than me. I only thought I could compete with him, but he was bigger and stronger than me.”
Even off the court, Cash’s siblings are still trying to motivate him to strive for more.
“They are both trying to become doctors, so they always push me to become smarter rather than being all athletic,” he said. “If anything happens with tennis, I can still have my backup plan if I do that.”
Mercer plans to study business at Ohio State, and wants to work in collegiate athletics. He’s interested in the compliance side, but is open to other options as well.
Mercer and Cash are hoping to remain doubles partners once they join Ohio State’s team next fall, but they don’t want to assume anything.
“Maybe they have plans for keeping us together. But ultimately we have to be ready for whatever is best for the team whenever it comes around,” Mercer said. “The main goal is winning team championships, and if we can do that playing doubles together, great.”
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