Aivaras Balžekas (April 8, 1982 – October 10, 2005) was a Lithuanian professional
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player and a member of
Lynn University
Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1962, the university awards Associate degree, associate, Bachelor's degree, baccalaureate, Master's degree, master's, and Doctorate, doctoral Academic degr ...
's tennis team.
Balzekas was a member of the
Lithuania Davis Cup team and earned a career-high
ATP singles ranking of world no. 926 in 2002. He played for one season at Lynn in
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...
,
and had earned several honors and titles, including finishing the 2005 season ranked 11th in American college tennis. This continued a successful career that began at
Auburn University–Montgomery, where he was a member of the 2004
NAIA national championship team.
Balzekas died at a Florida hospital where he was taken after being struck by a motorist. The collision occurred on October 8, 2005. At the time he was helping a friend push a disabled vehicle along the side of a road.
A Boca Raton man named David Walsh was sentenced to a year and one day in prison for the death of Balzekas. He pleaded guilty to driving drunk and killing Balzekas.
References
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1982 births
2005 deaths
Auburn University at Montgomery alumni
Lithuanian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Lithuanian male tennis players
Lynn Fighting Knights men's tennis players
Pedestrian road incident deaths
Road incident deaths in Florida
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