2014 USTA Missouri Valley
HALL
of
FAME
anD
Section Awards Celebration
2014 Annual Conference Sheraton Overland Park Hotel Overland Park, Kansas December 6, 2014
Thank ou... Y Today we celebrate the passionate individuals who work tirelessly to grow the game of tennis all across the USTA Missouri Valley. As we welcome three new inductees into the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame and honor our 2014 section award winners, please share your gratitude for their service to our communities and the game of tennis.
2014 Hall of Fame and Section Awards Celebration Order of Ceremony Welcome National Anthem Necrology 2014 Hall of Fame Inductees Stephen L. Gerdes Jim Klousia Ken Veney Lunch 2014 Year in Review Video 2014 USTA Missouri Valley Section Awards 2014 Junior Sportsmanship Awards 2014 President’s Award
1986
Hall of Fame
2014
2014 Stephen L. Gerdes.............. Omaha, Neb. Jim Klouisa...................Springfield, Mo. Ken Veney.................... Sydney, Australia
2009 Nick Taylor ......................Wichita, Kan. Skip Walther ................. Columbia, Mo. Sheldon Weiner ............. Rock Island, Ill.
2013 Ron Cobb....................... St. Louis, Mo. Kevin Hedberg...................Topeka, Kan. Joe McGuire................. Kansas City, Mo. Doug Smith..................... St. Louis, Mo. Bruce Vosburg................... Omaha, Neb.
2008 Gayle David Bradshaw .. PonteVedra Beach, Fla. Patricia Graham ........... Kansas City, Mo. Steve Prosser .................. DeSoto, Kan. Leigh Strassner ................ St. Louis, Mo.
2012 Judy Dippold................... St. Louis, Mo. Micki Schillig Feldmann.. Cedar Rapids, Iowa Edmund Serrano............... St. Louis, Mo. Meredith Geiger Walton..... Kingwood, Texas 2011 Rex Coad........................Wichita, Kan. James “Buddy” Fields...........Wichita, Kan. Janet Thomas Griffith............ Tulsa, Okla. Jane Pratt....................... St. Louis, Mo. Kim Steinmetz................. St. Louis, Mo. 2010 Charles Doughty .............. Wichita, Kan. Tommy English ........ Oklahoma City, Okla. Paul Lockwood .............. Norman, Okla. James Wadley ............... Stillwater, Okla.
2007 Barbara Fackel ............... Rock Island, Ill. Ken Flach ...................... St. Louis, Mo. Bob McKinley ....... College Station, Texas 2006 Dave Freeborn ................... Tulsa, Okla. Jay Louderback ............ South Bend, Ind. Terry Miller ............ Overland Park, Kan. Dave Riley ........................ Tulsa, Okla. Russell Warner.................... Tulsa, Okla. 2005 John Allen Been.............. Houston, Texas Dr. Harry Clifton Burrus ........Winter Haven, Fla. Jacque Croft............ Overland Park, Kan. Richard Mechem .......... Fredericksburg,Texas Frank A. Thompson Jr. ....... St. Louis, Mo.
2004 John Bregin ................... Merriam, Kan. Don Dippold .................. St. Louis, Mo. Don Gardner .................. Wichita, Kan. Ken Lidie ...................... Bellevue, Neb. Su Oertel ................... Mason City, Iowa
1998 W.E. Steve Broadie.............Wichita, Kan. Dr. Donald Klotz.............Iowa City, Iowa J.C. Louderback.........Arkansas City, Kan. Jim Reed....................... Winfield, Kan. S.L. Shofner.................... Prescott, Ariz.
2003 Bill Brown.............Arroyo Grande, Calif. Cliff Buchholz.............Fort Collins, Colo. Bob Green................Atlantic Beach, Fla. Nancy Pearce-Jeffett............ Dallas, Texas Phil Landauer................... Hillard, Ohio \ 2002 Patsy Rippy-Bond................. Sandy, Utah William Davis................Seminole, Okla. Ralph Hart...................... St. Louis, Mo. Bill Rompf...................... Newport, R.I. Mary Norwood-Rompf....... Newport, R.I.
1997 Lucien Barbour............... Winfield, Kan. Frank Ward........................Jenks, Okla. Anna Guerrant...............Scottsdale, Ariz. Dick Johnson..................... Ballwin, Mo. Nora Prosser.................. Merriam, Kan.
2001 Junior Coen................. Kansas City, Mo. Dick Gilkey....................Edmond, Okla. Gene Land.............Oklahoma City, Okla. Gerry Perry..................Springfield, Mo. Don McNeil.................Chickasha, Okla.
1995 Jodie H. Adams..............Springfield, Mo. Carol Hanks Aucamp.......... St. Louis, Mo. Mary Ann Eisel Beattie....... St. Louis, Mo.
2000 Marilyn Mueller............... St. Louis, Mo. Louis Gerdes.................... Omaha, Neb. Ollie Gresham.................... Tulsa, Okla. Homer Robinson................. Tulsa, Okla. Dr. Bryce Young............Hilton Head, S.C. Judy Levering....................... Stowe, Vt. 1999 David Bryant..........Oklahoma City, Okla. Dr. George Milton............Emporia, Kan. Cliff Price.......................... Tulsa, Okla. J. Hal Surface Jr............. Kansas City, Mo. Dr. Steve Wilkinson......... St. Peter, Minn.
1996 Harold “Buck” Balzer............ Buhler, Kan. Justina Bricka.................. St. Louis, Mo. Kate Cushing...................... Tulsa, Okla. Ted Drewes..................... St. Louis, Mo. Phillip L. Edwards............. St. Louis, Mo.
1994 Wray Brown.................... St. Louis, Mo. Earl “Butch” Buchholz Jr. ...... St. Louis, Mo. Beverly K. Buckley........Des Moines, Iowa Joy Rodenberg.................. Lincoln, Neb. Mervyn Webster................Wichita, Kan. 1993 C.J. Hixon......................... Tulsa, Okla. Wally Smith................ Ponca City, Okla. Dave Snyder......................Austin, Texas 1992 Jack Buss....................Des Moines, Iowa Lucile Davidson.......... Independence, Mo. Ed Doane.........................Tustin, Calif.
1991 Clarence Dyer.................. Durant, Okla. The Ward Parker Family...... St. Louis, Mo. Tom McSpadden............Muskogee, Okla. 1990 Francis Baxter.................Edmond, Okla. Earl H. Buchholz Sr...............Sedalia, Mo. Charles D. Cunningham......... Tulsa, Okla. Bill Price........................ St. Louis, Mo. Len Prosser.................... Merriam, Kan.
1988 D. Keedy Campbell........ Kansas City, Mo. Harris M. Coggeshall......... Des Moines, Iowa Marvin P. Richmond......... Leawood, Kan. T.H. “Curly” Vaughan......... Winfield, Kan. 1986 Dwight F. Davis................ St. Louis, Mo. Charles McKinley ............. St. Louis, Mo
1989 Gerald Perry.................Springfield, Mo.
2014 Inductee Ken Veney
2014 Inductee Jim Klousia
2014 Inductee Steve Gerdes
Stephen L. Gerdes Omaha, Nebraska
It’s not often that someone is the chair umpire for a USTA Pro Circuit-level match before they even win a high school state championship, but that was the case for Steve Gerdes. Gerdes, a native of Omaha, Neb., and graduate of Princeton University, first umpired a match in 1966 at the age of 14, which began a lifelong involvement in tennis, particularly in the USTA Missouri Valley. Gerdes returned to Nebraska after graduation to attend law school at the University of Nebraska, where he was also a volunteer assistant coach in the mid1970s. In Omaha, he served as a board member of the Omaha Tennis Association from 1975 to 1985, serving as President from 1982 to 1984. He served as a member of the Omaha Tennis 2000 Steering Committee, which raised $1.4 million to finish the Koch Family Tennis Center at Tranquility Park. He also served on the Omaha Tennis Facility Committee from 1997 to 2000, which prepared a master plan for repair and renovation of existing tennis facilities and the addition of new tennis facilities. At the section level, Gerdes has served as treasurer, first vice president, president, delegate and general counsel over the last four decades. He was awarded the USTA Missouri Valley Distinguished Service award in 2004. At the national level, he joined the United States Tennis Association’s Officials Committee in 1973, and became Editor of Friend at Court in 1989, a role in which he continues today. Gerdes’ player record was impressive, too. A two-time high school state champion in Nebraska, Gerdes played four times in the USTA Boys National Tennis Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich., and was ranked in the top 10 in his age group for juniors in the USTA Missouri Valley Section for seven straight years in the 1960s. In his senior year at Princeton University in 1974, the team was 13-0, Ivy League Champions and ranked 10th in the nation. He was also among the top 20 Father/Son doubles teams in the early 1970s with his father, Louis, who is also a member of the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame. The duo once played Bobby Riggs and his son Larry at the National Father and Son Tournament. On being inducted into the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame, Gerdes says: “It certainly is an honor to be recognized. I think that all of us who are in the hall of fame are really there as part of a celebration of our sport. There are many people who are deserving of being in a hall of fame and the hall of fame is something that enables us to celebrate our sport.”
Jim Klousia Springfield, Missouri
It was as a young child that Jim Klousia, a native of Monett, Mo., first watched tennis on television. He wanted to try the sport himself, and asked to borrow his mother’s old racquet. On a regular basis, Klousia would make a 45-minute walk to the closest courts and either hit against the wall, or hope someone would show up looking to play. “I played high school tennis and really enjoyed it, but I thought it’d be the end of tennis for me,” he says. After high school, Klousia went to work on the railroad, but quickly realized that digging ditches wasn’t something he was interested in. Thankfully, Klousia had an offer from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. to play tennis. Klousia followed a successful playing career at Southwest Baptist University with an illustrious career of various USTA district and section championships. He graduated from Southwest Baptist and took a job with Colgate-Palmolive Co., in Mississppi but continued to have an interest in getting back into tennis. He answered a call to return to Springfield and coach at Missouri State University, formerly Southwest Missouri State. Klousia served as men’s tennis coach at Missouri State University from 1979 to 2005, guiding his team to 10 conference titles and was named Coach of the Year six times. He finished with the second-longest coaching tenure in Missouri State athletics history, and is only one of two coaches at the University who won championships in three different conferences. Klousia’s career record in dual meets was 324-271. In 1988, he became director of tennis at Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield, where he continues to work today. In 2006, Klousia received the Springfield Missouri Parks Board lifetime achievement award. He was also inducted into the Missouri State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Southwest Baptist University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. Through the 1970s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s, Klousia held a top-10 rating in the USTA Missouri Valley. In 2007, he won the USTA Category II national championship in the 45 & Over doubles division with partner Phil Carter. He also earned second place in the tournament in singles. “I just enjoy the competition,” he says. “It’s a great sport and like any good sport it is going to teach life lessons. But I think tennis is the best life lesson teacher out there.” Of being inducted into the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame, Klousia says, “I’m just really honored that I get this recognition. I was looking through who else had been inducted and to think that I’m considered to be in the same category, I’m kind of amazed.”
Ken Veney
Sydney, Australia
When Ken Veney first picked up a tennis racquet, he was invited by a neighbor to a lesson. As it happened, Veney’s friend had little interest in continuing the sport after the lesson, but Veney quickly loved the game. With support from Veney’s brother and mother, he continued playing. His mother even built a brick wall at the family’s home for Veney to hit against. At age 10, he began competing in state, regional and national tournaments in Australia, where he resides again. It was from those humble beginnings that led Veney to play some of the game’s greatest players including Bjorn Borg,Yannick Noah, Johan Kriek and Hank Pfister. “When I got to play Bjorn Borg — that was really the pinnacle,” Veney said. “Just how deep he hit the ball and what a difference it was playing against him.” Veney, formerly of Leawood, Kan., had an accomplished playing career that includes No. 1 rankings at both section and national levels. He also attained a world ranking from the International Tennis Federation in Men’s 35’s singles and doubles in 2004. Veney directed programs and facilities all over the USTA Missouri Valley including Tulsa Southern Tennis Club, Shangri-La Resort on Grand Lake, Okla., Millennium Tennis & Fitness in Joplin and Hallbrook Country Club in Leawood, Kan. He was also named the USTA Heart of America Outstanding Contributor to Youth High Performance & Player Development in 2000, 2001 and 2004, and USTA Missouri Valley Adult Player of the Year in 2004. Veney is a past president of the USTA Missouri District and former vice president of the USPTA Missouri Valley division, both in 2001 and 2002. He was also honored with the USPTA’s Industry Excellence Award in 2001, and was most recently named the USPTA Missouri Valley 35 & Over Player of the Year in 2010. “I think tennis is the greatest game of all,” Veney said. “If I didn’t have tennis, I would have no clue what I would be doing. I met great people and made so many friends. It’s also given my family so many opportunities to travel, and it’s what brought me home.” Of being inducted into the USTA Hall of Fame, Veney says, “I’m just thankful. I feel very, very lucky. It does make you stop and make you realize it’s really not about me, it’s about everyone else who got me to where I am.”
2014 Award Recipients Junior Player of the Year (Female) - Sydney Harlow (Omaha, Nebraska) Junior Player of the Year (Male) - Owen Mulcahy (Kansas City, Missouri) Junior Recreational Player of the Year - Thompson Tong (Olathe, Kansas) Outstanding Junior Tournament - USTA Missouri Valley Futures (Kansas City, Missouri) 10 and Under Tennis Provider - Tyler Brown (McPherson, Kansas) USTA Junior Team Tennis Organizer - Janet Glaser (Wichita, Kansas) Outstanding Contributor Youth High Performance Program - Talor Wain (Lincoln, Nebraska) High School Coach of the Year - Aaron O’Donnell (Arkansas City, Kansas) Adult Player of the Year - Myron Pushyk (Wichita, Kansas) Adult Recreational Player of the Year - Kim Hanson (Leawood, Kansas) Outstanding Contributor USTA League Tennis Program - Barbara Meigs (Overland Park, Kansas) Outstanding Diversity Achievement - First Serve OKC Foundation (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Outstanding Adult/Senior Tournament - Jayhawk Open (Lawrence, Kansas) Tennis Family of the Year - The Swanson Family (Lincoln, Nebraska) Facility of the Year - T.H. Vaughn Tennis Complex & Lucien Barbour Addition (Winfield, Kansas) Outstanding Community Tennis Association - Pella Tennis Association (Pella, Iowa) Member Organization of the Year - The Greens Country Club (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Outstanding Official - Becky Riggs (Tulsa, Oklahoma) Media Excellence - Jane Hines (Omaha, Nebraska) Event of the Year - Fred Johnson All Stars Event (Wichita, Kansas) Community Service Excellence - Scott Hanover (Kansas City, Missouri) Distinguished Service - George Milton (Emporia, Kansas) President’s Award - Surprise Announcement
Female Junior Player of the Year
Sydney Harlow - Omaha, Nebraska • 2014 Class A state champion • Ranked No. 2 in Missouri Valley girls 18s • Played in National Girls 18s team championship and national clay court tournament this summer
Male Junior Player of the Year
Owen Mulcahy - Kansas City, Missouri • Won both boys 14s singles and doubles at the Heart of America District Championships • Competed in 18 tournaments in 2014 • Currently ranked No. 11 in Missouri Valley boys 14s combined ranking
Junior Recreational Player of the Year
Thompson Tong - Olathe, Kansas • Played Junior Team Tennis and led his 18s intermediate team to a third-place finish at 2014 Nationals • Won all of his district and district playoff matches • Has received several sportsmanship awards from other voting teams • Attended Junior Team Tennis Nationals in 2013 and received sportsmanship award two times at individual matches
Outstanding Junior Tournament
USTA Missouri Valley Futures - Kansas City, Missouri • Many Heart of America volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure a smoothly run, organized tournament • Multiple sites were used, including: Plaza Tennis Center, Rockhurst University, Minor Park and Oakwood Country Club. Midtown Athletic Club also provided assistance with supplies • Snacks were provided for the players and officials were on site and did an excellent job in maintaining all sites
10 and Under Tennis Provider
Tyler Brown - McPherson, Kansas • Director of the McPherson Advantage Junior Tennis Club 10 & Under Tennis program for 2014 • Directed six orange ball, five red ball and four green ball tournaments from March through July • Organized four weeks of team tennis with four teams participating • The Mac Advantage had 53 participants in the 10 and Under Tennis division who either attended camp and/or took lessons in June and July
USTA Junior Team Tennis Organizer
Janet Glaser - Wichita, Kansas • Operates summer tennis camps along with coaching middle and high school tennis at Wichita Collegiate and Andover Central High School • Started the USTA Junior Team Tennis program as an opportunity for high school players to get diversified match play over the summer • Captained two Junior Team Tennis teams, offering practices, play days, transportation and uniforms for the teams • Wrote grant requests to the USTA Kansas district to help teams cover a portion of event entry fees
Outstanding Contributor Youth High Performance Program
Talor Wain - Lincoln, Nebraska • Coached at Regional Training Center Level 2 in Kansas City • Selected to attend Regional Training Center Level 3 in Dallas • Coached Nebraska 14s team • Selected to attend USTA Missouri Valley High Performance Coaches meeting with national staff to address challenges in developing top players in nation • Coaches over 60 juniors playing district tournaments • Coaches over 20 juniors competing in Missouri Valley Futures, Supers and Sweet 16 tournaments • 10 and Under Tennis chair for USTA Nebraska
High School Coach of the Year
Aaron O’Donnell - Arkansas City, Kansas • Registered USTA No Cut Tennis Coach for both the boys’ and girls’ tennis teams at Arkansas City High School • Runs summer tennis programming, sanctioned USTA tournaments and USTA Play Days/Events • One of the first coaches to spearhead USTA Junior Team Tennis programming in the Kansas district • Won the Junior Team Tennis Kansas District Championship and went on to do well at the USTA Missouri Valley Section Championship
Adult Player of the Year
Myron Pushyk - Wichita, Kansas • In November 2013, advanced to both singles and doubles finals at the USTA National Men’s 55s Hard Court Championships, winning two silver balls • Advanced to the semifinals in both singles and doubles at the National Men’s 55 Indoor Championships • Has a career record of 25-5 in ITF singles matches and an 8-4 record in ITF doubles matches • In 2014 USTA League play, was undefeated in 18 & Over 9.0 Mixed and 5-1 in 40 & Over 45+ Men’s
Adult Recreational Player of the Year
Kim Hanson - Leawood, Kansas • Has a strong player record, organizes practices and cares about her players • Played on or captained 10 teams in 2014 • Participated in USTA Missouri Valley League Section Championships with seven teams, either as a captain or player • Made it to USTA League Nationals with three teams
Outstanding Contributor USTA League Tennis Program
Barbara Meigs - Overland Park, Kansas • Captain of a USTA League team in every age level • Led many of her teams to sectionals and Nationals • Level Coordinator for the Men 3.5 – in 18 & Over and 40 & Over • League Coordinator for the 65 & Over • Organized a committee, negotiated with Overland Park Racquet Club to use indoor courts, planned a great reception for players and handled all the registrations for the Heart of America 65s Invitational
Outstanding Diversity Achievement
First Serve OKC Foundation - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • Oklahoma City nonprofit that provides a year-round safe environment for at-risk youth placing an emphasis on physical fitness, education, nutrition, life-skills training and civic involvement • Conducted first all-day summer camp to underserved students ages 6-15. Served over 30 students, providing them a safe environment, mentorship, tennis, tutoring, life-skills training and healthy meals for only $5 per day • Seeks to establish long term relationships with our students, their families and their teachers, so that they can positively impact the lives of Oklahoma City youth and the community
Outstanding Adult/Senior Tournament
Jayhawk Open - Lawrence, Kansas • Held annually and believed to be the longest running open championship in the USTA Missouri Valley • Held at Topeka’s Kossover Tennis Center’s 18-court complex, June 13-15, in cooperation with the Topeka Tennis Association, Wood Valley Racquet Club and Shawnee County Parks and Recreation • $6,000 in prize money was offered at the tournament • 122 competitors entered the tournament, making it the largest adult tournament in USTA Kansas
Tennis Family of the Year
Swanson Family - Lincoln, Nebraska • Patriarch Loran Swanson was an initial shareholder of the Grand Island Racquet Center and first President of the Grand Island Tennis Association • Son, Bryon, and daughters, Ann and Stacy, all played collegiate tennis • Ann was tennis director/assistant GM at the Lincoln Racquet Club for 25 years • Several grandchildren have played collegiate tennis or club tennis • Daughter, Stacy, and her husband, Jim, are both USPTA tennis professionals
Facility of the Year
T.H. Vaughn Tennis Complex & Lucien Barbour Addition - Winfield, Kansas • Construction on the $900,000 T.H. Vaughan Tennis Center expansion project began in spring of 2013 and was completed by the end of 2013 • Seven new courts were built to expand the complex to 14 courts in one location • Other amenities include parking for 54 vehicles, an ADA compliant facility, lighting on seven courts, a hitting wall, renovated tennis center, landscaping and the Jim Reed Wall of Champions • Complex provides a venue for Winfield to host the 4A Boys’ Kansas State High School Championships and the Kansas State Open Junior Tournament
Outstanding Community Tennis Association
Pella Tennis Association - Pella, Iowa • Partnered with the city to repair, resurface and line 12 courts • Obtained a USTA Missouri Valley Line grant to assist with some of the funding • Currently working to develop a fourcourt indoor facility with private investors and the city • Hosts the Pella Junior Open giving junior players an opportunity for competition over the July 4th weekend • Organizes and runs the youth park tennis lesson program in June and July
Member Organization of the Year
The Greens Country Club - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • Membership has increased to an all-time high • 12 US Open Blue courts (six indoor and six outdoor) • Purchased a state of the art ball machine with a smartphone app so you can program your own drills • Newly renovated Kids Club which now has extended hours in the evenings, weekends and during events • Events at the club include club leagues, mixers, junior events, USTA Leagues and Junior Team Tennis as well as various social functions
Outstanding Official
Becky Riggs - Tulsa, Oklahoma • Certified official since 2010; currently certified as a rover, referee and ITA • Attended required schools and chair/line school • Worked five college matches, five USTA Oklahoma junior events, six USTA Missouri Valley junior events and one national selection junior event • Makes herself available to work all junior events in the state of Oklahoma
Media Excellence
Jane Hines - Omaha, Nebraska • Serves as the volunteer webmaster for various tennis websites in the USTA network • Contributing editor to USTA.com/USTAFoundation.com • Part of the design team for the new Adaptive Tennis website that launched in August 2014 • Initiated quarterly USTA Adaptive tennis newsletter • Published 19 Adaptive Tennis Spotlights on USTA.com and USTAFoundation.com in 2014
Event of the Year
Fred Johnson All Stars Event - Wichita, Kansas • Held at the Ralph Wulz Riverside Tennis Center in Wichita, July 19-20 • 53 special needs athletes from Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas competed in the play event • Players who were not able or ready to participate in match play received skills training • Marty Rothwell, director of the Arc of Sedgwick County, worked tirelessly to get things like meals, balls and entertainment • The coaches give of their time and resources year-round to provide these athletes with opportunities to play
Community Service Excellence
Scott Hanover - Kansas City, Missouri • Organizes and hosts tennis events at all levels of age, skill and program type • Organizer for USTA Flex Leagues of KC and league director for World Team Tennis Rec Leagues • Organizes wheelchair training, clinics and ongoing development efforts • Holds 10 and Under Tennis workshops and development workshops for certified coaches and interested players • Coaches Junior Team Tennis teams and serves as tournament director for many sanctioned USTA tournaments for adults and juniors at the local, section and national level • Assists WIN for KC to make tennis a part of their summer sports camps and participates in the Boy Scout Jamboree to introduce tennis to the scouts • Worked this year to bring the Annual Native American Indian Tennis Association’s national championships to the Plaza Tennis Center
Distinguished Service
George Milton - Emporia, Kansas • As a tennis coach, physical education teacher, innovator, mentor and humanitarian, Dr. George Milton has been active in the Missouri Valley for over 40 years • In 1996, joined forces with Fred Johnson to establish ‘Tennis in the Hood’, a program which brings tennis to urban children • Served as a league coordinator and a USTA Missouri Valley Education and Research Committee member as well as Kansas district president from 1992-1996 • Currently serves as Chairman of the USTA Kansas Grievance Committee, the Nominating Committee Chairman and special projects volunteer • Elected to the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame in 1999 • Played on a USTA Kansas Men’s 55 & Over 8.0 team • As the Emporia State tennis coach, he raised funds by conducting tennis marathons. His longest event was 120 hours, in 1991 and achieved a Guiness World Record • In 2004, the courts at ESU were dedicated in his name
President’s Award
Surprise Announcement
2014 Junior Sportsmanship Award Recipients Girls 10s Girls 12s Girls 14s Girls 16s Girls 18s Boys 10s Boys 12s Boys 14s Boys 16s Boys 18s
Amber Matronia St. Louis, Missouri Samantha Remis St. Louis, Missouri Janel Dean Creve Coeur, Missouri Claire Martin Chesterfield, Missouri Makenna Gonzales Arkansas City, Kansas Kolton Kreisz St. Louis, Missouri Hudson Dick Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Bradley Frye Overland Park, Kansas Alex Gray Edwardsville, Illinois Tyler Raclin St. Louis, Missouri
History Highlights 2014: • Lincoln, Nebraska native Jack Sock wins the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s doubles title with partner Vasek Pospisil over Mike and Bob Bryan. It’s Sock’s second grand slam title. 2013: • Nick Taylor and his long-time doubles partner, David Wagner, notched their fourth Australian Open Grand Slam doubles title, January 25, in Melbourne. 2006: • Oklahoma City Tennis Center and Columbia, Missouri given $100,000 grants to refurbish public facilities. 2002: • Fed Cup held in Springfield, Missouri at Cooper Tennis Complex: USA 5, Israel 0 1997: • D. A. Abrams becomes the first African American to serve as the executive director of a USTA section office by becoming the USTA Missouri Valley executive director. 1985/1986 • MVTA Section office moves from Des Moines, Iowa to Kansas City, Missouri. 1972: • Yellow tennis balls approved on a trial basis by USLTA 1968: • World Championship Tennis, Inc. brings professional tournament to Des Moines, Iowa; includes international players such as John Newcombe and Tony Roche of Australia, and Cliff Drysdale of South Africa. 1959: • Total number of MVTA (Missouri Valley Tennis Association) Registrations: 1,191 1928: • Davis Cup held in Kansas City, Missouri - Rockhill Tennis Club: USA 5, China 0 1920: • MVTA founded and admitted as part of the USLTA 1881: • A small group of tennis club members met at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City to form the world’s first national governing body for tennis: the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (later to be known as the USTA).
This is just a small portion of the important moments in USTA MissouriValley history. To view the full historical timeline, please visit the About Us section at MissouriValley.USTA.com.
2013-14 USTA Missouri Valley Executive Committee Scott Hanover - President Stuart Dusenberry - First Vice President Susan True - Vice President Larry Haugness - Vice President Alex Lee - Secretary Kim Reser - Treasurer Shelley George - Immediate Past President Barb Fackel - Delegate
2014 USTA Missouri Valley District Presidents Bruce Baldwin - Heart of America Kevin Nebergall - Iowa Bob Keeshan - Kansas Marianella Padron - Missouri Kevin Heim - Nebraska Steve Henry - Oklahoma Jason Mathes - St. Louis