North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Men’s Tennis Meets Irwin Holmes
9/2/2016 10:11:00 AM | Men's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. – Before the start of the 2016-17 season, the NC State men's tennis team met Irwin Holmes – a former NC State tennis player and the first black student athlete to graduate from NC State and earn a letter in an ACC program.
Holmes spoke with the team on many topics, including the challenges he faced and the way athletics fueled his success in life. At the end of his talk, Holmes stated, "you can't always stop the negatives from happening, but you can control the positive response after the negative."
During his time trailblazing NC State and the ACC, Holmes faced many challenges, but the responses after the negative were overwhelmingly positive.
Holmes received support from many of his peers along the way. His resident advisor helped him participate in intramural sports, which eventually led to his hall finishing second in the intramural sport standings at the end of the year. His coach, Jack Kenfield required Clemson and South Carolina to travel to NC State if they wanted to play the Pack, due to South Carolina state laws not integrating athletics. His teammates also supported him, walking out of a diner in Chapel Hill, N.C. after they refused to serve Holmes.
Holmes had a solid career with the Pack, playing in the middle of the lineup his junior season and co-captaining the team his senior year – becoming the first African American to captain of a varsity program in the South.
After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, Holmes had a successful career in the engineering field, including a 25-year stint with IBM. He is now a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award Recipient.
Holmes still praises NC State engineering graduates as the most prepared to enter the workforce.
Read more on Holmes: Irwin Holmes Was First, Irwin Holmes completes the circle at NC State and Irwin Holmes Pioneers Racial Equality Movement.
Holmes spoke with the team on many topics, including the challenges he faced and the way athletics fueled his success in life. At the end of his talk, Holmes stated, "you can't always stop the negatives from happening, but you can control the positive response after the negative."
During his time trailblazing NC State and the ACC, Holmes faced many challenges, but the responses after the negative were overwhelmingly positive.
Holmes received support from many of his peers along the way. His resident advisor helped him participate in intramural sports, which eventually led to his hall finishing second in the intramural sport standings at the end of the year. His coach, Jack Kenfield required Clemson and South Carolina to travel to NC State if they wanted to play the Pack, due to South Carolina state laws not integrating athletics. His teammates also supported him, walking out of a diner in Chapel Hill, N.C. after they refused to serve Holmes.
Holmes had a solid career with the Pack, playing in the middle of the lineup his junior season and co-captaining the team his senior year – becoming the first African American to captain of a varsity program in the South.
After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, Holmes had a successful career in the engineering field, including a 25-year stint with IBM. He is now a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award Recipient.
Holmes still praises NC State engineering graduates as the most prepared to enter the workforce.
Read more on Holmes: Irwin Holmes Was First, Irwin Holmes completes the circle at NC State and Irwin Holmes Pioneers Racial Equality Movement.
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