Bev Schwink
Building the Game One Serve, One Child, One Community at a Time
Tennis didn’t start early for Bev Schwink. It arrived in her 30s when she and her husband, Walt, put a court in their backyard. That single project kicked off 50 years of playing, coaching, and organizing local tennis. She took her first lessons at White Marsh, fell hard for the game, and never looked back.
She loved the competition. Bev played on more than 85 USTA teams and captained over 20 of them. Her teammates voted her the most pleasant captain at Sectionals, but her teams were serious contenders. She led her squad to USTA Nationals in Surprise, Arizona twice, bringing home a third-place national finish.
In 2007, Bev got certified through the Professional Tennis Registry in adult and junior development. She jumped early on the USTA’s 10-and-Under Tennis initiative, learning the system and teaching other area coaches how to run it. Soon she was running pee-wee clinics for four-year-olds and expanding grassroots tennis across Anne Arundel County.
Her coaching list covers the whole region. She ran after-school programs at Indian Landing, St. Anne’s, St. Mary’s, Arundel Middle, Nantucket Elementary, and Fort Meade. She directed summer camps at Epping Forest, Sherwood Forest, Downs Park, and Broadneck. Her Junior Team Tennis squad, “The Servivors,” made the state championship and earned a feature on center court at the DC Open. She even taught lessons at the Brooklyn Senior Center working through a Korean translator.
Bev gave her time to every local Play Day, clinic, and community showcase that asked. She built programs from scratch and brought generations of local players into the sport. Her tireless devotion to the game leaves an indelible mark on Anne Arundel County, making her a true pillar of our local tennis history.
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