CWRU Athletics

James was the leader of the Case Western Reserve men’s tennis teams of the early 1980’s, helping the squad to back-to-back Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships in 1983 and 1984.  He played at no. 1 singles and doubles all four years on the team, and was a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection on two occasions.  James won the University’s Nip Heim Award in 1984.  Academically at Case Western Reserve, he was named to the Dean’s High List on eight occasions, and was the recipient of the Merck Index Award for Chemistry, and the Western Reserve Scholar Award.  He graduated summa cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year.  Following his graduation from CWRU, James went on to graduate from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1989 and then completed his surgical residency at Vanderbilt.  He then completed his vascular fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine in 1997, eventually becoming a vascular surgeon.  His son, William, went on to follow in his father’s footsteps, and was a four-year player for the Case Western Reserve men’s tennis team.