Beeson Returns For Fourth Tour Of Duty
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
You know the saying about you can never go back?
Joe Beeson has found you can go back.
Not once.
Not twice
Not three times.
How about four times?
In an effort to right its girls tennis program, Warsaw has turned to Joe Beeson, who started Warsaw's boys tennis program in 1962 and coached until 1969.
Then Beeson left to build the Warsaw Racquet Club. He returned to coach the Warsaw boys from 1982-1987. He followed that by coaching Warsaw's girls team from 1989-1992. It was then the Warsaw girls enjoyed their greatest run, going to semistate for four years in a row and advancing to the state final four in 1990 and 1991.
Warsaw hopes Beeson, who has since sold the Warsaw Racquet Club and retired, can bring back the old magic.
Beeson will be the Tigers' sixth different girls tennis coach since 1994. Warsaw's last Northern Lakes Conference title came in 1991 under Beeson, a United States Pro Tennis Association professional. Since then, Warsaw has finished as high as second in the NLC only once.
"I had parents and [Warsaw athletic director] Dave Fulkerson approach me to ask me about taking the job and to bring the program up where it was at one time," he said.
"There has not been continuity. I'm hoping to get some consistency going."
What Beeson believes has to change are off-season work habits.
"A tennis team is not built during the season," he said, "it's built in the off-season. Unless you have someone to run the program in the off-season, it's very difficult to have a decent program."
Not that Beeson feels he is the perfect fit or the cure-all, because he doesn't. While he relishes the challenge of trying to right the program, he doesn't believe he is the ideal coach.
"I have told the school from the beginning that they needed to get somebody from the school system," he said. "It's a lot better for the kids if they have a coach who is a teacher, someone they see on a daily basis."
Two key players, Abby Simmons and Liza Weidenbenner, don't return from last year's team. Simmons, last year's No. 1 singles player, graduated. Weidenbenner, who played with Kara Kesler on last year's No. 1 doubles team, didn't graduate but isn't on the team this year.
This year's lineup features freshman Jessica Davis at No. 1 singles, junior Lauren Witzky at No. 2 singles and freshman Kristi Haddad at No. 3 singles. Seniors Kara Kesler and Amber Barrett comprise the No. 1 doubles team, and senior Angie Suchecki and sophomore Tracy Yoder are the No. 2 doubles team.
"We will have a real young team in the singles area," Beeson said, "but I think we will be competitive. I believe we will have a winning season, and certainly winning a conference championship is a goal."
If the past under Beeson repeats itself, he may be right.
MANCHESTER SQUIRES
Head coach/years: Eric Christiansen/second
Last year: 5-9 overall/2-3 TRC/lost first round of sectional
Key losses: Katrina Runkle/Carmen DeFusco, No. 1 doubles; Christy Markstahler, No. 1 singles
2001 lineup: Senior Jamie Lauer, No. 1 singles; senior Molly McWithey, No. 2 singles; junior Megan Keffaber, No. 3 singles; senior Rachel Bushong/senior Allison Ingold, No. 1 doubles; senior Erin Byer/senior Kristen Fradette, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Carroll at Manchester, 4:30 p.m. today
Outlook: Manchester returns a veteran team with six seniors and one junior in the lineup
Christiansen: "Five of our seniors were varsity players as sophomores. We're just hoping last year that we learned how to win matches and will carry that into this year. With all of our players we have coming back, we would like at least nine wins and are shooting for the TRC title, although Whitko and Valley should be strong."
NORTHWOOD PANTHERS
Head coach/years: Scott Miller/first
Last year: 3-10 overall/2-4 NLC/lost in sectional
Key losses: The core of the team returns as only two graduated.
2001 lineup: Senior Jessica Yoder, No. 1 singles; senior Jessica McCarthy, No. 2 singles; sophomore Chelsey Bowers, No. 3 singles; senior Andrea Atkinson/sophomore Nicole Fishburn, No. 1 doubles; junior Laura Gillam/junior Kesley Davis, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Fairfield at NorthWood, 4:30 p.m. today
Outlook: NorthWood has failed to finish above fourth in the NLC since 1991, when the Panthers placed third.
Miller: "We were 3-10 last year, but we have set a pretty lofty goal of wanting to finish with double-digit wins and finish in the top three in the conference. I am excited about the possibility of achieving those goals."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY VIKINGS
Head coach/years: Jack Shambaugh/fourth
Last year: 13-3/5-0 TRC/lost in sectional finals
Key losses: Carissa Parker, No. 1 singles; Abby Lewis, No. 2 singles; Wendy Tilden, No. 3 singles
2001 lineup: Junior Alyssa Anglin, No. 1 singles; junior Julie Studebaker, No. 2 singles; sophomore Kelly Sanders, No. 3 singles; senior Kyleigh Gast/senior Kris Sanders, No. 1 doubles; senior Jayme McCalla/senior Jamie Doud, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Tippecanoe Valley at Manchester, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday
Outlook: Valley's 13 wins last year set a school record, eclipsing the old mark of 12 set two years ago. The Vikings graduated their three singles players, all who set school records for their respective spots in the lineup. Carissa Parker, the No. 1 singles player, finished 16-3. Abby Lewis, the No. 2 singles player, went 14-4. Wendy Tilden, the No. 3 singles player, went 14-5.
Shambaugh: "We're young. We'll be rocky at first because we're unproven at singles. But they worked hard in the off-season, and by the middle of the year, we believe we'll be a threat."
TRITON TROJANS
Head coach/years: Laura Lamaster/eighth
Last year: 5-7/lost in sectional
Key losses: Gina Longmire, No. 1 doubles
2001 lineup: Sophomore Angela Wilcox, No. 1 singles; junior Jenny Berger, No. 2 singles; sophomore Lena Miller, No. 3 singles; junior Crystal LaMaster/sophomore Kelly Whiteman, No. 1 doubles; sophomore Brittany Zeider/junior Crystal Sellers, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Won at Rochester 5-0 Monday; Triton is 1-0
Outlook: Triton graduated only one player, but it's still a young lineup with no seniors and four sophomores.
Lamaster: "If they can stay tough and realize they have the ability to win, it's just something they need to know that they can wrap up the matches. They have the ability. These girls care about tennis. They played in the off-season. We're continuing to rebuild. You see them do drills and it looks like they can do some things, but you never know until you see them compete against another team."
WAWASEE WARRIORS
Head coach/years: Phil Mishler/sixth
Last year: 14-5 overall/3-3 NLC/sectional champions, regional runners-up
Key losses: Mandy Perzanowski, No. 1 singles; Laura Lundin, No. 2 doubles
2001 lineup: Kate Murphy, No. 1 singles; Kayla Auer, No. 2 singles; Stacy VanLue, No. 3 singles; Cara Windle/Ashley Ganz, No. 1 doubles; Margo Searfoss/Candice Brown, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Wawasee is 2-0 after hosting and beating Central Noble 5-0 on March 29 and hosting and beating Lakeland 5-0 on Monday.
Outlook: Wawasee deals with life after Mandy Perzanowski. Perzanowski, a No. 1 singles player who received a full-ride scholarship to play at the University of Detroit, went 25-1 last season and lost in the second round of the state meet.
Mishler: "When your No. 1 singles player goes undefeated and moves everybody down a notch, she's tough to replace. Kate Murphy is just discovering what No. 1 singles varsity action will be like. We're young and inexperienced. In our conference, I think Warsaw will be real strong, and Plymouth and Northridge will be up there again."
WHITKO WILDCATS
Head coach/years: Larry Schuh/second
Last year: 6-6 overall/4-1 TRC/lost in first round of sectional
Key losses: Aly Frantz, No. 1 singles player; Lisa Menck, No. 2 singles player
2001 lineup: Senior Stacie Warner, No. 1 singles; sophomore Brooke Workman, No. 2 singles; freshman Emily Crist, No. 3 singles; senior Hilari Ayres/sophomore Stephanie Haines, No. 1 doubles; four players battle for No. 2 doubles, including sophomore Brandy Bayles, sophomore Kelli Robinson, sophomore Chelsey Grant, junior Jodi Frantz
Opening match: Huntington North vs. Whitko at Whitko Middle School, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday
Outlook: Whitko finished .500 last year, but one of the main reasons the Wildcats did that well was because of its top singles players, Frantz and Menck, who graduated.
Schuh: "The key this year is going to be our second and third singles players. They are two girls who hit the ball consistently but are really inexperienced at those positions. The second key will be how our doubles turn out, because will most likely lose singles matches here and there." [[In-content Ad]]
You know the saying about you can never go back?
Joe Beeson has found you can go back.
Not once.
Not twice
Not three times.
How about four times?
In an effort to right its girls tennis program, Warsaw has turned to Joe Beeson, who started Warsaw's boys tennis program in 1962 and coached until 1969.
Then Beeson left to build the Warsaw Racquet Club. He returned to coach the Warsaw boys from 1982-1987. He followed that by coaching Warsaw's girls team from 1989-1992. It was then the Warsaw girls enjoyed their greatest run, going to semistate for four years in a row and advancing to the state final four in 1990 and 1991.
Warsaw hopes Beeson, who has since sold the Warsaw Racquet Club and retired, can bring back the old magic.
Beeson will be the Tigers' sixth different girls tennis coach since 1994. Warsaw's last Northern Lakes Conference title came in 1991 under Beeson, a United States Pro Tennis Association professional. Since then, Warsaw has finished as high as second in the NLC only once.
"I had parents and [Warsaw athletic director] Dave Fulkerson approach me to ask me about taking the job and to bring the program up where it was at one time," he said.
"There has not been continuity. I'm hoping to get some consistency going."
What Beeson believes has to change are off-season work habits.
"A tennis team is not built during the season," he said, "it's built in the off-season. Unless you have someone to run the program in the off-season, it's very difficult to have a decent program."
Not that Beeson feels he is the perfect fit or the cure-all, because he doesn't. While he relishes the challenge of trying to right the program, he doesn't believe he is the ideal coach.
"I have told the school from the beginning that they needed to get somebody from the school system," he said. "It's a lot better for the kids if they have a coach who is a teacher, someone they see on a daily basis."
Two key players, Abby Simmons and Liza Weidenbenner, don't return from last year's team. Simmons, last year's No. 1 singles player, graduated. Weidenbenner, who played with Kara Kesler on last year's No. 1 doubles team, didn't graduate but isn't on the team this year.
This year's lineup features freshman Jessica Davis at No. 1 singles, junior Lauren Witzky at No. 2 singles and freshman Kristi Haddad at No. 3 singles. Seniors Kara Kesler and Amber Barrett comprise the No. 1 doubles team, and senior Angie Suchecki and sophomore Tracy Yoder are the No. 2 doubles team.
"We will have a real young team in the singles area," Beeson said, "but I think we will be competitive. I believe we will have a winning season, and certainly winning a conference championship is a goal."
If the past under Beeson repeats itself, he may be right.
MANCHESTER SQUIRES
Head coach/years: Eric Christiansen/second
Last year: 5-9 overall/2-3 TRC/lost first round of sectional
Key losses: Katrina Runkle/Carmen DeFusco, No. 1 doubles; Christy Markstahler, No. 1 singles
2001 lineup: Senior Jamie Lauer, No. 1 singles; senior Molly McWithey, No. 2 singles; junior Megan Keffaber, No. 3 singles; senior Rachel Bushong/senior Allison Ingold, No. 1 doubles; senior Erin Byer/senior Kristen Fradette, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Carroll at Manchester, 4:30 p.m. today
Outlook: Manchester returns a veteran team with six seniors and one junior in the lineup
Christiansen: "Five of our seniors were varsity players as sophomores. We're just hoping last year that we learned how to win matches and will carry that into this year. With all of our players we have coming back, we would like at least nine wins and are shooting for the TRC title, although Whitko and Valley should be strong."
NORTHWOOD PANTHERS
Head coach/years: Scott Miller/first
Last year: 3-10 overall/2-4 NLC/lost in sectional
Key losses: The core of the team returns as only two graduated.
2001 lineup: Senior Jessica Yoder, No. 1 singles; senior Jessica McCarthy, No. 2 singles; sophomore Chelsey Bowers, No. 3 singles; senior Andrea Atkinson/sophomore Nicole Fishburn, No. 1 doubles; junior Laura Gillam/junior Kesley Davis, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Fairfield at NorthWood, 4:30 p.m. today
Outlook: NorthWood has failed to finish above fourth in the NLC since 1991, when the Panthers placed third.
Miller: "We were 3-10 last year, but we have set a pretty lofty goal of wanting to finish with double-digit wins and finish in the top three in the conference. I am excited about the possibility of achieving those goals."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY VIKINGS
Head coach/years: Jack Shambaugh/fourth
Last year: 13-3/5-0 TRC/lost in sectional finals
Key losses: Carissa Parker, No. 1 singles; Abby Lewis, No. 2 singles; Wendy Tilden, No. 3 singles
2001 lineup: Junior Alyssa Anglin, No. 1 singles; junior Julie Studebaker, No. 2 singles; sophomore Kelly Sanders, No. 3 singles; senior Kyleigh Gast/senior Kris Sanders, No. 1 doubles; senior Jayme McCalla/senior Jamie Doud, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Tippecanoe Valley at Manchester, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday
Outlook: Valley's 13 wins last year set a school record, eclipsing the old mark of 12 set two years ago. The Vikings graduated their three singles players, all who set school records for their respective spots in the lineup. Carissa Parker, the No. 1 singles player, finished 16-3. Abby Lewis, the No. 2 singles player, went 14-4. Wendy Tilden, the No. 3 singles player, went 14-5.
Shambaugh: "We're young. We'll be rocky at first because we're unproven at singles. But they worked hard in the off-season, and by the middle of the year, we believe we'll be a threat."
TRITON TROJANS
Head coach/years: Laura Lamaster/eighth
Last year: 5-7/lost in sectional
Key losses: Gina Longmire, No. 1 doubles
2001 lineup: Sophomore Angela Wilcox, No. 1 singles; junior Jenny Berger, No. 2 singles; sophomore Lena Miller, No. 3 singles; junior Crystal LaMaster/sophomore Kelly Whiteman, No. 1 doubles; sophomore Brittany Zeider/junior Crystal Sellers, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Won at Rochester 5-0 Monday; Triton is 1-0
Outlook: Triton graduated only one player, but it's still a young lineup with no seniors and four sophomores.
Lamaster: "If they can stay tough and realize they have the ability to win, it's just something they need to know that they can wrap up the matches. They have the ability. These girls care about tennis. They played in the off-season. We're continuing to rebuild. You see them do drills and it looks like they can do some things, but you never know until you see them compete against another team."
WAWASEE WARRIORS
Head coach/years: Phil Mishler/sixth
Last year: 14-5 overall/3-3 NLC/sectional champions, regional runners-up
Key losses: Mandy Perzanowski, No. 1 singles; Laura Lundin, No. 2 doubles
2001 lineup: Kate Murphy, No. 1 singles; Kayla Auer, No. 2 singles; Stacy VanLue, No. 3 singles; Cara Windle/Ashley Ganz, No. 1 doubles; Margo Searfoss/Candice Brown, No. 2 doubles
Opening match: Wawasee is 2-0 after hosting and beating Central Noble 5-0 on March 29 and hosting and beating Lakeland 5-0 on Monday.
Outlook: Wawasee deals with life after Mandy Perzanowski. Perzanowski, a No. 1 singles player who received a full-ride scholarship to play at the University of Detroit, went 25-1 last season and lost in the second round of the state meet.
Mishler: "When your No. 1 singles player goes undefeated and moves everybody down a notch, she's tough to replace. Kate Murphy is just discovering what No. 1 singles varsity action will be like. We're young and inexperienced. In our conference, I think Warsaw will be real strong, and Plymouth and Northridge will be up there again."
WHITKO WILDCATS
Head coach/years: Larry Schuh/second
Last year: 6-6 overall/4-1 TRC/lost in first round of sectional
Key losses: Aly Frantz, No. 1 singles player; Lisa Menck, No. 2 singles player
2001 lineup: Senior Stacie Warner, No. 1 singles; sophomore Brooke Workman, No. 2 singles; freshman Emily Crist, No. 3 singles; senior Hilari Ayres/sophomore Stephanie Haines, No. 1 doubles; four players battle for No. 2 doubles, including sophomore Brandy Bayles, sophomore Kelli Robinson, sophomore Chelsey Grant, junior Jodi Frantz
Opening match: Huntington North vs. Whitko at Whitko Middle School, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday
Outlook: Whitko finished .500 last year, but one of the main reasons the Wildcats did that well was because of its top singles players, Frantz and Menck, who graduated.
Schuh: "The key this year is going to be our second and third singles players. They are two girls who hit the ball consistently but are really inexperienced at those positions. The second key will be how our doubles turn out, because will most likely lose singles matches here and there." [[In-content Ad]]