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Cooper Schwartz did not go to class at Loyola High on Monday. That was just too much.
“I didn’t think it would get worse yesterday,” he said on the phone. “I cried the whole morning.”
His good friend and doubles partner on the tennis team, Brown Levy, was killed Sunday morning in a traffic accident in Manhattan Beach. Police say they have arrested a 33-year-old Los Angeles woman on suspicion of drunk driving and murder. Police found Levi lying on the street after the crash.
Hundreds of students and community members came to Loyola’s campus on Sunday night to spend their prayer vigils.
We are heartbroken by sharing the news that Loyola senior Brown Levy has passed away.
The 18-year-old Levi was a four-year varsity starter at Loyola Tennis and solidified himself as one of the most skilled student-athletes in the history of the program, winning four consecutive league titles. pic.twitter.com/824y4m55cd
– Loyola High Athletics (@loyolaathletics) May 5, 2025
Few people could get to know Levy better than Schwartz. The two have been competing in young people’s tennis tournaments since they were eight years old, but usually they encountered the finals. They became doubles partners when Schwartz transferred from Brentwood to Loyola as a sophomore.
“It was natural,” he said they would become partners.
Describing Levy, Schwartz said, “I knew that every time you were with him you would laugh and get some smiles. He always made something with nothing. He had a great time every time.”
Both live in Palisades in the Pacific Ocean and lost their homes in the Palisade fire. Schwartz had lived with Levy for more than a week after the fire. Their experience was the same.
“You’re up all night and no one knows what to do with insurance,” he said. “Your family handles the same thing, but you don’t know what to do.”
Both families have moved – Levi to Hermosa Beach, from Schwartz to Century City. The two seniors were closed at graduation and teamed up last week to win the Mission League Doubles title. Levi was the team captain and was ready to attend Virginia, a standout standout for four years.
Schwartz said Levy checked in with him on a polite phone Saturday night, and a friend spoke to him. Loyola had just learned to seed the tennis playoffs for the Southern Section Open Division, which is scheduled to begin Friday. Then came the news of the tragedy.
“To be honest, picking up a tennis racket is the last thing I want to do right now,” Schwartz said. “Brown wants me to play, but if he’s not playing with Brown, I’m not playing. He’s the guy who warmed up in every game, every practice. Getting the final victory is something I don’t want to hurt.”
Loyola’s tennis team met on Monday for the first time since the tragedy. The players are sad. No decisions have been made regarding playing on Friday.
Schwartz intends to remember Levi in the best way he can.
“Brown was my friend on the court at first, but then my friend was off the court,” he said.
He sheds more tears as he tries to understand something that doesn’t make sense.
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