Aivaras Balžekas (April 8, 1982 – October 10, 2005) was a Lithuanian professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player and a member of the

Lynn University Lynn University is a private university in Boca Raton, Florida. Founded in 1962, the university awards associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees. It is named for the Lynn family (Christine E. and Eugene M. Lynn). It has a total ...

's tennis team. Balzekas was a member of

Lithuania Davis Cup team The Lithuania men's national tennis team represents Lithuania in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Lithuanian Tennis Association. Lithuania has never been a tennis country – no tennis player from Lithuania entered Associatio ...

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 ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, 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 the

Auburn University-Montgomery Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) is a public university in Montgomery, Alabama. Established by an act of the Alabama Legislature in 1967, it is governed by the Auburn University Board of Trustees as a member of the Auburn University system. ...

, 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 car. The accident 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 was sentenced to a year and one day in prison for the death of Balzekas. He pleaded guilty to driving drunk and killing Balzekas.

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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 {{Lithuania-tennis-bio-stub