After playing tennis since age 12, Michael Schaeffer and Alex Rovello visited the University of Oregon as high school seniors — recruited for their high school tennis careers. After their recruiting trip, Schaeffer decided to attend the UO. Soon after, Rovello followed suit. Throughout college, the two were teammates on the men’s tennis team, as well as neighbors in the residence halls and, subsequently, apartments.

“We would hang out every single day with the team and without,” Schaeffer said.

Last May, Rovello invited Schaeffer on a trip to Tamolitch Falls. Schaeffer, however, was driving to Portland that day and declined.

That afternoon, Schaeffer received the news that Rovello had died in a cliff diving accident. Rovello jumped from a 60-foot cliff into the Blue Pool at the Tamolitch Falls, hitting the water face and chest first.

“It was a shock,” Schaeffer said. “I didn’t believe it.”

The men’s tennis team will name the center court on the north side of the student tennis courts — where Rovello played most of his indoor matches — after the deceased standout athlete. The ceremony will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. and is expected to draw a large crowd, including the entire men’s tennis team.

Rovello won 60 singles matches and 53 doubles in his three seasons on the tennis team. Men’s tennis head coach Nils Schyllander said that Rovello had a tremendous impact on the team as one of the great native Oregon players to attend the UO.

Associate head coach Jonas Piibor said that the court dedication is the department’s best way to honor Rovello and his legacy, even after those who knew Rovello are no longer at the UO.

“It’s a way to have him there,” Piibor said. “He’ll forever be a part of the UO Ducks and the men’s tennis team.”

Senior tennis player Robin Cambier was Rovello’s doubles partner during their freshman year. He said that each tennis match mattered immensely to Rovello.

“There was something great in him,” Cambier said. “You could really see in his eyes that it mattered to him.”

This year, Cambier said it will be an honor for him to play on the court that will be dedicated to Rovello. Cambier, a Belgian native, said that Rovello taught him about American sports and he considered him to be his American brother.

Rovello had a similar personal impact on many others, Cambier said.

“When he passed away, so many athletes went to his funeral or the ceremony here in Eugene,” Cambier said. “He just had a big impact on everyone.”

Rovello’s parents, Jim and Geri, said that Rovello’s greatest dream was to be a UO athlete and the court dedication is a great honor for him.

“The court dedication on Saturday is a tremendous honor that would have meant the world to Alex. He had hoped he would be able to have an impact on the U of O team and their standings,” Jim and Geri wrote in an email to the Emerald. “For the experience Alex had at the University of Oregon we are eternally grateful.”

Schaeffer said that he believes Rovello was always going to have an impact on the UO tennis team. The court dedication, he said, just makes things a little more official.

“Now it’s just going to be a little more lasting because his name is going to be up there,” Schaeffer said.