Former Livingston resident Danielle SchwartzAuerbach won two gold medals for tennis at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.The Maccabiah Games featured 10,000 Jewish athletes from 60 countries participating in 42 different sports. President Joe Biden attended the opening ceremony.Schwartz Auerbach represented Team USA and won the gold medals in singles and mixed doubles.“At the awards ceremony, hearing my name called out twice as a gold medal winner from the United States of America made my heart overflow with such great happiness and pride,” Schwartz Auerbach said.She began playing tennis at the age of five.“I was watching my older brother and sister taking a tennis lesson, and I ran onto the court, took one of their rackets and started hitting the ball,” SchwartzAuerbach said. “The coach couldn’t believe that I could hit the ball over the net. I started taking lessons from that day on.”She played her first tournament when she was nine years old. By the time she was ten years old, she was playing in national tournaments.Schwartz Auerbach attended NewarkAcademy for four years and played on its tennis team. During those years, she made First Team All State. She was recently inducted into the Newark Academy Hall of Fame.She then attended Wake Forest University, where she played four years of ACC and NCAA tennis.Schwartz Auerbach, who now lives in New York City with her husband and three children, explained what playing on Team USA in the Maccabiah Games meant to her.“As the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, who suffered the worst of humanity, their story of survival and rebuilding a family in a new country always inspired me,” SchwartzAuerbach said. “My grandparents were so proud to be Americans. Playing for the USA meant the world to me.”Schwartz Auerbach added that winning the gold medals was “a dream come true.”“I am thankful for the opportunity to represent my country at this extraordinary international competition, and I encourage anyone who wants to have an experience of a lifetime to try and do the same,” Schwartz Auerbach said.She said that sharing this moment with her parents was very special.“It was especially great to share this experience with my parents, who were there to cheer me on at every match. After years and years of watching me play tennis, this was the perfect icing on the cake for all of us,” Schwartz Auerbach said.The Tribune: Since 1929, Livingston’s original news hyperlocal.
