Ben and Chris Brewer are brothers and teammates on the Franklin Pierce University Men's Tennis teams

By Anthony Chighisola (FPU Student Feature Writer)

(Editor's Note: This is the latest entry in a series of feature stories on Ravens student-athletes. This week, Anthony Chighisola sits down with Ben and Chris Brewer on the men's tennis team. The brothers are getting ready for an exciting spring season in Rindge.)

When looking at a family, it is very rare for a child to become a collegiate student-athlete. To say that one family has two college athletes is even more rare. However, that is the exciting situation for the Brewer family and its sons, Ben and Chris, here at Franklin Pierce University.

Both Ben and Chris are members of the men’s tennis team on the Rindge campus.  Ben is a senior on the team, while Chris is a newcomer to squad as he is currently in his freshman season. They have been college teammates for just one semester, but they have been around each other and seen the other’s skills much longer than that. Before coming to Franklin Pierce both Ben and Chris were teammates at Brattleboro Union High School in Vermont. The brothers each put together impressive high school resumes, including Ben, who was a four-year letterwinner and the school's career leader in victories. Chris, too, was a four-year letterwinner in the sport. 

When asked why they chose Franklin Pierce the brothers nearly had the same answer. 
“I chose Franklin Pierce because I was able to get a good package from the school, as well as having the opportunity to play tennis with a scholarship," said Ben. "The sports and rec department is also very strong and that was intriguing for me as well”. 

Chris on the other hand had an answer that was a little more simpler.

“Coming to Franklin Pierce and being able to play tennis was a major reason why I choose this school," he said. "Being able to play with my brother was an added bonus”. 

When asked about the quote from Chris saying that playing with Ben was a bonus, the elder brother said, “it is great having my little brother on campus.  He is a great addition to our tennis team and he has definitely enjoyed the school so far.” 

One thing that has definitely been easy, has the parents' job of raising Ben and Chris. Both of them play a collegiate sport on the same team, meaning that they can go to one place to watch them play and not miss any other events. 

“Our parents are very proud that Chris and I are playing a collegiate sport together," Ben said. "They would have been more then happy if we chose different paths, but I think ultimately they love that we are close to home so they can come watch us play.”

The Franklin Pierce men's tennis team is a work in progress, but it does have potential for big things on the horizon as the squad is filled with underclassmen still learning their way in college athletics. 

When asked about the team Chris said, “the tennis team this year still struggles to compete against the top teams in the league, but it has come along way since my brother's freshman year. I think we have some awesome potential and can only get better.” 

"The tennis team this year finally has the pieces we need to win a bunch of matches," added Ben. "In the past we always had a chance to beat one or two teams in our conference and not compete in many others. But now we compete in just about every match and have a strong chance to win five or six matches this spring. I'm looking forward to the spring season.”