Read just a few paragraphs below and you’ll catch a case of fun-loving fever. Of course, you may have caught it earlier if you were pelted by water balloons from Elam Hall, nailed by an airsoft pistol on Hilton Head Island, or covered by exploding sunscreen inside a 15-passenger van. Welcome to the life of Colten Jones, a Bison tennis player-turned-attorney. Learn more of the craziness from his visit this week with LipscombSports.com.

What years did you compete for Lipscomb?

I played tennis from 2003-07 for Coach Lynn Griffith, also known as “Coach G” and “The Ward” (as in “Ward Cleaver”).

What teammate was most memorable?

I can’t choose just one.  We had such a great group of guys.  Mike Sherman, David Carrillo, and Craig Dobson were all groomsmen in my wedding, and we text/email basically every day.  They have remained three of my absolute best friends.  I could never forget Andrew Harris – known and loved by all – and I must give shout-outs to Zach Bowman, Jon Houston, and Waaaaayne (a.k.a, Brent Taylor), not to mention Stupid Rook, Johnny Carino, Jeffy, Miz, Chap, Clayton, Daniel, and Panther – an absolute all-star crew of former teammates.

The memories that stand out are episodes from our Spring Break trips.  We always had several matches over Spring Break, but Coach G did his best to make it a mini-vacation for us by scheduling the matches in Hilton Head, Cocoa Beach, etc. 

Leading up to our trip to Hilton Head my freshman year, Airsoft Commando Jon Houston made everyone buy these $20 airsoft pistols and safety glasses from Dick’s Sporting Goods so we could do battle at our rental house.   We got to the house, and it was literally in a mini-jungle by the beach, so we enjoyed some epic airsoft battles where tempers flared, wounds were suffered, and overall hilarity ensued.

On that same trip, we were running along the beach one morning for our “conditioning,” and these two girls (probably college-age) were walking the opposite direction, coming our way.  They started running toward us, just kind of laughing and pretending to be “serious runners”—kind of mocking us—when one of them looked our way, smiled, and then—with all of gravity’s fury—fell flat on her face right as we passed by.  Just a priceless moment.

There was also a time when Andrew Harris and I were fighting over a tube of sunscreen in the 15-passenger van when the tube exploded.  We stopped at a gas station an hour later to discover the entire inside of the van was literally covered in sunscreen.  It was a miracle of physics.

My teammates would point to the time I accidentally hit one of the women’s tennis players square in the face with a basketball.  That story gets told a lot.  

These stories all sound so corny (maybe because they are), but those are the types of moments that stick out 10-plus years after graduation.

What degrees have you earned?

I earned my B.A. in Mass Communication from Lipscomb in 2007 and my J.D. from the University of Kentucky in 2016.

Why did you attend Lipscomb?

Lots of reasons: my parents met at Lipscomb, many of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and a brother (Kelly) went there, and my grandmother taught there for a while.  I was raised in the Church of Christ in nearby White House, so our church group came to Lipscomb for various events in my childhood.  It was also a good fit for tennis and academics, so it all just kind of came together.

What is your favorite athletic memory at Lipscomb?

Being a tennis player, we didn’t often get to play in front of large crowds like basketball and baseball players frequently do, but we had a few pretty big turnouts to some home matches that were really fun.  Tennis is such a grind, so it helps when you see your friends in the crowd. You can feed off their energy.  Doubles matches were especially fun because they’re so fast-paced, and the crowd really gets into it. 

Other than that, I had a memorable win against a guy that beat me in the high school state team championship, and I got him back in college.  There were also several times when I was the last guy on the court and the team match came down to my individual singles match, and I was able to get the win. (I’ll pretend as if I never lost any of those.)  Those were always fun because it felt like my match really meant something and people were counting on me.  I’ll never forget my teammates encouraging me and going crazy any time I won a big point—and it was fun being one of the encouragers when a teammate was in the same position.

Who influenced your athletic career at Lipscomb?

The older I get, the more I appreciate Coach G and how he applied rock-solid principles to everything we did.  He understood the bigger picture, and he reminded us that how we approach tennis/workouts/school/etc. affects the way we will approach life.

I also have to give a shout-out to Mike Sherman.  Mike played #1 as a freshman, and he battled through a wrist injury that really held his game back for a year or two (although he still had a great career).  That guy pushed me and the rest of the team to dig in and compete at a really high level.  We had a great culture of competition that helped us win some matches we probably had no business winning.

I also need to mention Andrew Harris for working with me (and the rest of the guys) so much during my senior year when he was our graduate assistant.

Coach John Hudy was another strong influence.  Coach Hudy treated the tennis team like any other group.  He had high expectations for us, and he gave us a huge advantage over other tennis teams that didn’t place as much importance on weight training.

What’s your favorite non-athletic memory from your time here?

Sanctuary, Halo and ping-pong in Sewell, and ultimate Frisbee were all great, but my favorite memory is launching water balloons out of our dorm window on the third floor of Sewell. (Pretty sure the statute of limitations has run on that one.)  It truly was a team effort—a high-level exercise of synergy.  We had a perfect system of waiting for guys to drop off their girlfriends at Elam, then turn around at the roundabout, and right before they slowed down for the speed bump, we launched.  These unsuspecting drivers were 100+ yards away, but we were peppering them with balloons of fury.  We had a great run until Sam Smith caught us a couple nights in, and he confiscated the launcher.  Fortunately, we were able to run a rescue mission and we got it back, but we had to lay low from then on.

What is the most valuable lesson you learned in your time at Lipscomb?

At the top of my list: the importance of friends.  My best friends are mostly people I met at Lipscomb.  I’m so glad that I’m still close with the guys I made all these great memories with. 

I’d also say I learned to enjoy the moment—although sometimes that’s hard to do.  I’m the type of person who is always looking toward the next great thing or the next step in life, but reflecting on these college memories is a great reminder to enjoy the moment you’re in and soak it up.  Tomorrow will worry about itself.

Who were your favorite professors?

Paul Prill is one of my favorite people.  He wrote one of my law school recommendation letters and is easy for me to describe: great teacher and great person.

Jimmy McCollum is another of my favorites.  He chaired the Communications Department when I was there, and he was always there to encourage, help, and advise.

I also appreciated Alan Bradshaw.  I was the farthest thing from a science major, but I thoroughly enjoyed his Physics 101 class.  He taught us everything we needed to know, and nothing we didn’t—and he made it fun.  He was an excellent teacher and another great person.

What do you do now?

I’m an attorney here in Nashville.  I work at a civil litigation firm called Brewer, Krause, Brooks and Chastain.  I’m fairly new, but I’m enjoying it so far.  Before that, I clerked for a couple of judges in Bowling Green, Kentucky, so it’s an interesting transition from “playing judge” to now arguing one side.

Tell us about your family:

I met my wife, Kerri, while I was in law school in Lexington.  She played college soccer for ETSU (which was in the ASUN back in my day; funny story—the ETSU girls referred to Lipscomb as “Lippy Lippy Lipscomb!”), and she was living in Lexington temporarily with one of her old teammates.  I was lucky enough to meet her, and then I dragged her down to Nashville and asked her to marry me.  We got married last May (shout-out to Brent High for officiating our wedding), and we have a baby on the way this July!

My parents live in Cottontown, TN.  My dad, Brad, is a former Lipscomb tennis player, and he works as a structural engineer.  My mom is a former teacher, and she is a stay-at-home wife and dog-rescuer.  My brother, Kelly (another former Lipscomb tennis player), and his wife are both teachers in Williamson County.

FAST FINISH

• Favorite restaurant: Baja Burrito
• Favorite TV show or movie: The Wire
• Favorite scripture: Isaiah 45:22 (says a lot in just a few words) – “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
• Favorite sports team: Titans/Grizzlies/Predators
• Pet peeve: Waiting in lines
• Person I most admire: My dad
• Favorite season: Fall
• Pick one: salad or dessert. Is this a trick question?  DESSERT
• Dream vacation spot: Jekyll Island, GA
• Early morning or late night person? Unfortunately, neither.

If you’d like to reconnect with Colten, you can email him: coltenjones@gmail.com.