In Margie Van Lieshout’s eyes, success was measured in terms of how long she stayed on the tennis court, and Margie was in no rush to leave.

Staring down her opponent across the hard court, she knew that she was against the power of the University of Detroit’s Newcomer of the Year, Annie Moore.

But rather than staying on the defensive, Margie unabashedly came to the net with regularity, and forced Moore into difficult game-winners. She lunged for every ball on the return and vocally berated herself for mistakes.

Shouts of encouragement poured from the bleachers between serves. Fifteen of Margie’s friends and family turned out to see her play for the last time. Some painted their chests black and gold, while others sported their Panthers T-shirts.

Down 6-3, 5-2 and her opponent serving for the second set match-point certainly was not the memorable moment she wanted for her final home singles match this past April.

Margie fought hard and would later find satisfaction with her effort, but frustration simmered behind her congratulatory smile.

Losing was not everything, it was the only thing.

At least to Margie Van Lieshout, losing felt like the only thing.

Van Lieshout was one of two seniors on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s tennis team during the 2005-’06 season. But she was the only one to have played all four years at UWM.

In those four years, the women’s tennis team went 9-65. Van Lieshout experienced four coaching changes in that span. And the team’s 4-15 record at the end of the 2005-’06 season was a sign of improvement.

Losing was something Van Lieshout eventually accepted. But it was the lack of dedication to improvement that soured her experience.

“I didn’t really know the situation I walked into,” said Van Lieshout. “It was a shocker. Before coming here, I was always pushed to work harder. I was used to practicing five days a week in high school.”

Before college, Van Lieshout rarely tasted defeat on the tennis court. She compiled a 93-33 career record at Oshkosh North High School and received first team all-state honors in her freshman, junior and senior seasons. In 2002, she accepted a scholarship to UWM.

‘Always the underdog’

Van Lieshout played in the No. 1 spot the last three seasons at UWM. She faced the toughest competition in every match.

“I was always the underdog,” Van Lieshout said. “Realistically, I shouldn’t be a one (seed) on a Division One team. On average, I should probably be a four.”

Athletic department officials agree with Van Lieshout’s self-assessment.

“Margie comes from a tennis family and in the number one spot she would just get beat and beat and beat,” said M.A. Kelling, UWM’s assistant athletic director and tennis supervisor. “I think she saw it as a challenge to herself and accepted it well in defeating times.”

“I would go into matches knowing that I had nothing to lose,” said Van Lieshout. “So I would just set smaller personal goals like getting x amount of games or doing better in the second set.”

Kelling said she felt bad for the athletes on the women’s tennis team.

“I think because they were not like other teams, they felt left out,” Kelling said.

The inconsistencies at the coaching position did not help. After Van Lieshout’s freshman year, the team’s long-standing coach, Erin Jex, resigned. The part-time coaching position turned into a revolving door the next two years.

“The players needed a leader,” Kelling said. “Basically, I was their only leader. I would bring the girls in to ask them what uniforms they wanted and even drive them to events.”

Associate Athletic Director Deanna D’Abbraccio agreed that the constant turnover took a toll on the athletes.

“Our philosophy is to treat all athletes with a positive experience,” D’Abbraccio said. “Every athlete wants to improve on their game and I’m sure that some of (the tennis players) didn’t have the same positive experience.”

The inability of the department to find a coach who would dedicate three to five years to the part-time position put tennis in jeopardy. The elimination of tennis from the athletic program came up a year or two before the hiring of current coach Matt McCaskill, said Kelling.

Success not a factor for program’s future

Both associate athletic directors, Chuck Lang and D’Abbraccio, admitted that the future of tennis was discussed. But they said that every sport is re-evaluated at the end of the year.

“If success had a bearing on tennis’ stay at UWM, it would have been dropped already,” Kelling said.

“When all the other sports are successful, it’s easy to look at tennis and ask why are they not the same way,” Lang said. “We don’t have an endless pot of money and tough choices have to be made, but (eliminating tennis) was never a valid option at any point.

“Certainly, we can’t not spend money anymore and expect positive results. We have to find a way to make the team competitive, which means finding a practice facility and financial commitment. It’s hard to be competitive when there’s no financial support.”

According to Lang, the department has increased the tennis team’s budget by 25 to 30 percent since three years ago.

With any other sport, the rumor would have spread about cutting women’s tennis from the athletic program. But to have a rumor would require students to know that the team exists.

“I had more people watch my high school matches than in college,” said Elizabeth Angel, a junior on the 2005-’06 UWM tennis team. “The biggest crowd we had was against Marquette, but otherwise it’s just parents and friends. Sometimes we’re lucky to even get parents.”

“I think courts on campus would make a big difference,” said Angel. “I mean students walk by and see the soccer field and decide to watch a game because it’s convenient. Otherwise students don’t know that there’s a team or a match.”

Van Lieshout expressed the same dismay over the lack of fans at tennis matches.

“Five students at a match would be like ‘oh my god.’ There were never strangers that showed up for a match. You always knew everybody there,” Van Lieshout said.

Lang and D’Abbraccio agreed that tennis courts on campus would help prove the university’s support. But there simply are no land options, said Lang.

“The future is still in flux,” Lang said. “We have to find a place where the team has more control over a practice area and can establish a rhythm.”

New coach provides ‘rhythm’

One step toward establishing that rhythm was the hiring of coach McCaskill in January 2005. The previous coach, Mara Lencina, left unexpectedly midway through Van Lieshout’s junior season. Kelling had three weeks to recommend a coach for hire before the season started.

McCaskill said that he was “a coach on trial” in his first year and had to prove his dedication. Gaining the players’ trust was essential to the team being competitive, said McCaskill.

“I inherited a team that wasn’t competitive. So the first task was to establish a rapport with the existing players and then a line of recruiting,” McCaskill said.

McCaskill recruited five of the state’s top tennis players for the 2006-’07 season. Combining this with his own emergence as a coach with direction, McCaskill guaranteed improvement.

“Things are going to change for the positive. It won’t happen in a week or one year,” said McCaskill. “The team never had stability, but I’ll be here regardless of wins and losses.

“The bottom line is that we have to be competitive in the conference.”

For Van Lieshout, who graduated in May with a Communications degree, women’s tennis appears to finally be headed in a positive direction.

“I had a blast this year and a coach like Matt helps,” Van Lieshout said. “Matt made it worthwhile. He saved my opinion of college tennis and showed that it can be fun.

“If there’s a positive to my experience, it’s that I know all the adversity has prepared me for later things in life.”

Van Lieshout is currently working toward a teaching certificate at UWM. She remains involved with the tennis program in helping with fund-raising and organization of team media guides.

“I wish that Margie could be a freshman right now for selfish reasons,” McCaskill said. “She would probably play in the bottom half of the lineup, but her perspective on college tennis would be so different. However, things happen for a reason … and while her experiences in tennis might have been poor, she is stronger for it in the long haul.”

> Comments