The American Dream: Andrew Ton
Dedication to his country is something that is deeply routed in Navy Tennis Senior Andrew Ton. After Ton’s father escaped from Vietnam in 1975, the Ton family has had a deep sense of gratitude for the United States. It is that sense of gratitude that inspired, the highly recruited, Andrew Ton to choose Navy over other schools. Ton is now one of the most accomplished players in Navy history, and is grateful for the journey he has been a part of.
As a first-generation American, I have always believed that the United States of America is the land of opportunity; that I can be whoever I want to be, and do whatever I want to do, as long as I’m willing to put in the work to earn it. I learned this mentality from both of my parents — Vietnam War refugees who found hope, stability, and sanctuary in the United States when coming here in 1975. My parents are the foundation of who I am today, and I guess my journey begins with my father’s story of living the “American Dream”.
On April 30th, 1975, at 0302 AM, my father escaped communist rule on the second to last US helicopter off of the US Embassy in Saigon. After being brought to the 7th Fleet, he was brought to Guam where he was held for processing. From there, he was taken to Florida, followed by Joliet, Illinois with a sponsoring Church. After a year of working multiple jobs and taking community college classes, my father was accepted into the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My father went on to receive his PhD in the biomedical field, eventually landing himself in the Silicon Valley. This is where he met my mother playing tennis, paving the way for my two older sisters and I to also play this amazing sport. My father’s unwavering work ethic and commitment to his family has truly typified the “American Dream”, and has shown us that you can achieve anything if work hard and earn it.
As you can see, tennis is a family affair. I started playing at two years old, when my older sisters took me out on the neighborhood courts near our home in California. I cannot recall much from my early years, but I do remember that all I wanted was to be like my sisters. I am blessed to have such amazing siblings who are always pushing me to be the best that I can be, no matter the circumstance. Both of my sisters went on to play Division I tennis, with my oldest sister Christina at Manhattan College in New York and my middle sister Stefanie at the United States Naval Academy. Both of them were also team captains in their senior years. To this day, I often find myself trying to catch up to them, and I am extremely humbled to learn from the best.
Since a young age, I have always known I wanted to serve in the military. Knowing my father’s story and seeing how much opportunity this country has given my parents and my family, I had no doubt in my mind that I wanted to give back and serve our great country. On my sister’s Induction Day (I-Day) in 2009 — the first day of basic training at the United States Naval Academy – my dream of coming to Annapolis was sparked. Fast forward eight years to 2017, when my family dropped me off for my own I-Day. It was a surreal experience, literally walking in the same footsteps as my older sister. When my peers and I raised our right hands on that day, we were called to something bigger than ourselves. The Naval Academy was everything I was looking for in an institution – a great education, a chance to serve this country, and an opportunity to play Division I tennis. These past four years have been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, wins and losses, and an incredible journey of personal growth. I have been truly blessed to have met such amazing men and women during my time here, and I would not trade anything in the world to be anywhere else.
Here at Navy, the term “student-athlete” is taken literally – academics always comes first. However, being at a military institution, Midshipmen here have to juggle not only academics and athletics, but also military and leadership opportunities. Unlike other Division I programs, we have less time on the court and in the weight room. However, using the idea of doing more with less, our tennis program has been very successful in the years that I have been a part of. Not only has our team been successful in terms of tennis, but we have been successful in personal growth and maturation. I am honored to be a part of such an amazing group of young men and an amazing coaching staff, and I attribute my growth and success to them.
The one moment that has defined my tennis career was on April 21, 2018 at the annual Army-Navy tennis match. Everyone knows about “America’s Game” where Navy competes against Army in the last football game of the year. The stands are filled with service members in uniform, previous and current Presidents, and true Americans creating a pure sense of patriotism – there truly is nothing like the Army-Navy rivalry. In my plebe (freshman) year in 2018, I had the opportunity to clinch the match at the team score of 3-3, coming back from a 2-5 deficit in the third set against Army’s top player. The moment that changed the match for me was when my coach sat me down at the change over and said “embrace the moment.” From that point on and to this day, I have always lived with this in mind. I have come to the realization that in every moment in life, you will never feel the same way ever again. What we fail to realize as humans is that our thoughts, our actions, and our environments are always fluid. So I always ask myself, if I am never going to feel this way – in this moment right now – ever again, why not embrace it? Oftentimes, we feel as if pain and defeat will last forever, but if we embrace these arduous moments, we will become stronger people. As team captain for this season, I have always made it clear to my teammates that we must embrace the short time we have as student-athletes, because it truly does fly by.
I hope to take this mindset into my next chapter in my life, as I graduate and transition into the United States Marine Corps. The lessons learned through junior tennis, and with my 4 years here in Annapolis, I am truly humbled to end my career on a high note, no matter the outcome of our season. At the end of the day, wins and losses are exhaustive - they only stay with you for a temporary time. What truly lasts forever are the relationships you form and the character you build as a tennis player. You see, tennis is a game of individuality, where you must be able to adapt and flex to every point. This sport prepares the individual player to perform under pressure – tennis is simply a game for life. So as I depart this incredible chapter in my life, I say thank you to this amazing sport and thank you to my family, coaches, friends, and teammates for making this journey incredible.
