A point of pride for me, in assessing the Bethany Christian tennis program's legacy, is the number of players that we have had go on to play collegiate tennis at some level. In the 2009-2010 school year, here are the numbers of players that have played:NCAA Division III:
Luke Hostetter - Messiah College - #2S & #1D
Johnny Kauffman - Earlham College - #3S-#4S & #3D
Jonny Shenk - Eastern University - #6S & #3D
NAIA:
Joel King - Goshen College - #2S & #1D
Daniel Buschert - Goshen College - #6S & #3D
Jordan Kauffman - Goshen College - JV and some varsity
Michael Steury - Goshen College - JV and some varsity
Matthew Amstutz - Goshen College - JV and some varsity
That's an impressive list, and I expect it to grow. From this year's team, Mikey, Seth and Ben have all received some level of recruiting interest from colleges, with Seth and Ben still having their senior seasons to compete here at Bethany.
So how are our players doing at college?
Our 2005 team members finished out their college careers this fall. Joel King, playing a range of positions, from #4 singles to #2 singles, wrapped up his collegiate playing days with a record of 30-23. In doubles, he reversed that at 23-30. Several times he made dramatic runs in the Mid-Central Conference tournament, taking the higher seeds into long matches and pulling some upsets, but he never ended up with a Conference crown. Michael Steury played two years at Hesston and two at Goshen, and I don't have his Hesston records. At Goshen, he played a total of 4 "varsity" matches, going 1-3 in those matches. It's still pretty incredible for someone who picked up tennis as a sophomore in high school to have played at that level!
Jordan Kauffman is the in the only member of our seniors in 2006 to play at college. Currently, his record is 12-26 at all varsity positions, mostly #6 singles and #3 doubles. This spring, I got to watch Jordan and Daniel Buschert play #2 doubles against Bethel. I was proud of the progress that both players have made, and even though they lost, they had more spirit than any others out on the court. That's sounds hokey, but hearing Jordan give a "c'mon!" while others grumbling and complained their way around the court put a smile on my face.
The 2008 class is loaded with collegiate players.
- Daniel Buschert finished up his first season at Goshen 3-14 in singles, but 8-8 in doubles.
- Matthew Amstutz finished up the season 1-1 in singles, and 1-0 in doubles.
- Johnny Kauffman is currently 5-10 in singles, 6-10 in doubles (though he's won 3 straight!)
- Luke Hostetter is currently 6-7 in singles, 10-4 in doubles (undefeated in his conference!)
- Jonny Shenk is currently 6-6 in singles, 4-7 in doubles (he has also won 4 straight singles matches)
I'm looking forward to hearing stories from these returning alumni this summer. I'm hoping to get to play with some of you this summer, see you playing the current Bethany players, and catch up.
That's the update, have a good Fish Fryday!