2018 Award Winners
Adult Player of the Year
Rami Scheetz- It is possible that this outstanding young man and Tennis player could be up for junior tennis player of the year additionally, but I am making an equally impressive suggestion for that award. This young man is a key partner in the class 2a State Champion Doubles Team with partner Ty SHerman and they dominated play at this years state high school tournament in Cedar Rapids this past May. Rami will be a senior at Washington High School playing for a former high school coach of the year, Rusty Graff, who doubles as the chief operating officer of Westfield Tennis Club. Rami plays other tennis tournaments around the state of Iowa and reached the pinnacle of success this summer, particularly at the Iowa Open Tennis Tournament where he was a double winner in the Junior portion of the tourney--defeated Timmy Ellis for the singles crown which was a rare situation in an ITA or USTA tournament in the summer immediately after his outstanding high school season of 2018. More importantly, and perhaps a record setting accomplishment for at least 55 years and perhaps closer to 90 years, he was a 16 year old Mens Open Singles Champion at the Baird Iowa Open Tennis Tournament in July to be perhaps the youngest male player to ever win the men's open singles title in that prestigious event. He followed up that accomplishment by winning the Midlands Men's Open Singles title just a few weeks after that. His future looks bright for the year ahead, collegiate experience in the future, and could represent Iowa well in the "life-time" sport of tennis if he continues playing in the decades ahead.
Adult Recreational Player of the Year:
Chris Amelon- I am nominating Chris Amelon for USTA Iowa Recreational Player of the Year. Chris is an avid 4.0 player and is a great representative for the game with her integrity and passion. In 2018, Chris played on 6 USTA Teams (4.0 18+, 4.0 40+, 8.0 Mixed 18+, 8.0 Mixed 40+ and 4.5 18+). Chris is the Captain of both of her 4.0 teams, both of which advanced to Districts. In addition, Chris' 4.0 40+ team made it to Sectionals in September for the second year in a row. As Captain, Chris spends a great deal of time putting together the team, the line ups for each meet and helps coordinate team practices. She also works closely with the USTA to stay updated on schedules, new rules and formats. As a player, Chris regularly participates in team drill groups, arranges extra practice matches and will occasionally take private lessons. This past year, Chris was instrumental in putting together a new 4.5 team so more people could play and arranged for a weekly drill group for them. Chris is an excellent athlete and tennis player and cares a great deal about her teammates. Chris is a terrific role model for adults new to the game with her enthusiasm and integrity. As a captain, she has been put in tough situations such as line ups and scheduling and you can always count on Chris to do the right thing. Chris will want to win but she places higher value on sportsmanship. I am proud to nominate Chris on what she has done in 2018 alone. However, what is really impressive is that she has done this for over 8 years. Tennis in Iowa is better because of Chris.
Junior Player of the Year -Female
Cari Naanep- Carrie has been playing for at least as long as her days in 12 and under as I review results from past years in the Iowa Tennis Association. She is a senior this fall at Johnston High School and played tournaments such as the Iowa Open this summer but in the late spring she reached the pinnacle of success the states class 2A Singles Champion from Johnston High School and became the first athlete-female or male- to grab a State Championship in the sport of tennis and this is a school rich in athletic talent and major accomplishments in sports for the "Drago" program of Johnston High School.
She defeated Jamie Knox in twelve consecutive games to open the tournament in her 3rd seeded position and defeated Iowa City West standout and a member of the State Team Champion WestHigh Women of Troy, Jessica Moonjelly in straight sets to enter the semifinals where she upset the #2 seed Lily Feldman of Pleasnt Valley fame, 6-3,7-5. In the finals she bounced back from a one set deficit and won in three sets to grab the state crown with a Final 6-2 third set win over Davi Patterson of Boone to grab the elusive State Title for Johnston High School.
Her classy behavior, yet definite dedicated work ethic and overall achievement makes her a State Champion who will be difficult to unseat in 2019 at the state meet.
Junior Player of the Year - Male
Timmy Ellis- Timmy is a State Champion singles in class 2a and won the championship this year in convincing fashion. He is the #1 player on the Ames High School tennis team and top player coming out of the traditionally super talented Central Iowa Metropolitan League, arguably the best conference in either class for the state of Iowa. He is the top athlete in that league playing tennis and participating in USTA tournaments, both juniors and adults, throughout the summer in recent years.
Timmy is outstanding in the classroom as a sound student/athlete and his sportsmanship and cooperation with tournament directors is second to none. His future is bright in this sport and is a quality individual along with being a fantastic tennis player and ambassador for high school tennis in the state of Iowa.
Junior Sportsmanship of the Year
Anthony Medina- I was the tournament director of Muscatine's T. Beckley Junior Tennis Open held on July 14 and 15 at the Muscatine High School and Weed Park Tennis Courts this year. I spent most of my time at the Muscatine High School courts where the boys played and because of this, I had witnessed and was the recipient of many good comments regarding 12U junior tennis player, Anthony Medina. At the registration table for this tournament, I asked that all the participants read and sign the "USTA Junior Player Oath". As Anthony read the oath, it was evident that he didn't just skim it, but read every word and took his time to understand its purpose and reasoning as to why we promote good sportsmanship. My volunteers working this station of the registration, told me that this young man was very kind, thankful, and excited to sign the Oath. Another example as to why I'm nominating Anthony for the 12U Junior Sportsmanship Award is because of what some parents told me while I was at the Weed Park Courts; which is where we held the 2nd day of the 12U Singles Consolation Final. They said that Anthony attended the "Tennis and Life Camp" in Gustavus, MN and came home with the "incredible ability to give his opponent the benefit of the doubt when it came to line calling. Many times, the ball would be clearly out, but Anthony would call the ball good, because he said "it could have been in, so that's what I called it". At the conclusion of each match, I had my volunteers ask each player to complete a Peer Evaluation on their opponent as well as themselves. I received 6 completed Peer Evaluations and all of them marked Anthony Medina as a player who "went above and beyond the spirit of the Oath". Anthony competed in both the B12U doubles as well as the B12U singles categories. Anthony and his partner took first place in doubles and he took the top spot of the B12U Consolation Final. Thanks for your consideration for awarding Anthony Medina the boys 12U Junior Sportsmanship Award. You can go to www.greatrivertennis.com and click on the Muscatine's T. Beckley Junior Open 2018 tab. His photos can be found in the Boys Winners slide show, his name is captioned on the photos.
USTA Iowa Tennis Family of the Year:
Greteman Family- I would like to nominate The Greteman Family, for the Iowa USTA Tennis Family of the Year. I would like to recognize Matt and his Family for their work volunteering as coaches at both the High School and College levels, organizing and executing the annual tennis tournaments and for volunteering to lead the rec tennis program at Iowa State University.
The Family members are Matt, the father, and three of his four children. He has two sons, Peter and Nate, and a daughter, Leah, that are all active in their tennis communities. Matt has coached his High School team for over 25 years. Matt also run the annual Carroll Tennis Open. 2018 was the 13th year for the CTO led by Matt. His two sons currently coach at the University level. Matt’s daughter, Leah, is also the vice president of the ISU rec league. Leah recently extended her winning streak in the mix doubles competition in the Annual Carroll Tennis Open Tournament to 4 years in a row.
The Following highlights their involvement in amateur tennis:
Matt Greteman - http://mattgreteman.usptapro.com/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Matt has been the volunteer coach of the Carroll Kuemper Tennis (Carroll, Iowa) team since 1993. Matt’s love for tennis began in High School (at Kuemper) where he played the #1 player, continued into College where he played for University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and has continued over the almost 25 years of coaching. Matt has a massive passion for the sport and his players. Beyond teaching them to be tennis stars, Matt focuses on character and leadership.
Points of Consideration
1) Life-long Passion – High school player (one of the first for Kuemper), UNI Team member and most of all - 25 years of voluntary coaching. To give you a sense for his commitment and values, I share the following story - - on March 13, 2018, the day after our Dad passed away from cancer, Matt was on the court coaching his team. He sat the team down, shared the news of Dad’s passing and shared why he was there with them. He noted that the reason he was there and why he volunteered his time was because of the example that Dad set for him. He noted the importance of giving back to your community and investing in the next generation.
2) State-level Performance - The Kuemper Tennis team made it to state for the first time in school history in 2016. Matt and his team represented Carroll and the school very well – high sportsmanship and a strong showing. Over the years he has had players go to state and the team making it in 2016 was a dream come true for Matt.
3) Steward to the Game - Matt was instrumental in gaining buy-in from the Carroll City Council to build 6 state of the art tennis courts. Beyond gaining approval, Matt worked to raise funds to reduce the cost to the city. Matt personally raise $170,000 of the more than $500,000 needed to complete the project.
4) Annual Tennis Tournament - Matt coordinates and runs an annual tennis tournament, Carroll Tennis Open (CTO) for 13 straight years. He even has a fun wooden racquet event that makes for some stiff competition. Folks prepare for months to play in the event – sometimes those wooden racquets can be hard to find.
5) Enabled both Indoor and Outdoor Tennis – Matt has identified the need, raised money to build and led the building of both an indoor and outdoor tennis facility.
Matt has influenced hundreds of players over the years as a coach. His stewardship has positioned thousands in Carroll to enjoy a lifelong sport. I, my wife and daughter, personally, started playing the game a few years back at his encouragement.
Peter Greteman - https://athletics.central.edu/coaches.aspx?rc=157&path=mten
USTA Rating – 5.0; playing tennis since the age of 5
Record - https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Rankings/RankingHome.aspx?RankingPlayerName=matt%20lanahan#&&s=6%5cUsta_2cJr4Lb4b12ugC2zGH2MYg%3d%3d%5cYear_
Nathan Greteman - https://omavs.com/coaches.aspx?rc=698&path=mten USTA Rating – 5.5; playing tennis since the age of 5 Record - https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/Rankings/RankingHome.aspx?RankingPlayerName=matt%20lanahan#&&s=6%5cUsta_2cJr4Lb4b10zl30MqD2hrw%3d%3d%5cYear_
Leah Greteman – https://clubs.recservices.iastate.edu/tennis/ USTA Rating – 4.5; playing tennis since the age of 5
Leah – Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLxrz3C6PGw
Please find below a few articles regarding the Family impact:
Outdoor Tennis
http://www.carrollspaper.com/Content/Opinion-Archive/Douglas-Burns/Article/Carroll-strokes-a-winner-with-Graham-tennis-plan/4/25/13816
Indoor Tennis
http://www.1380kcim.com/news/2017/kuemper-celebrates-fieldhouse-grand-opening-by-thanking-those-who-made-it-happen/
A very special thank you went out to one individual in particular, Matt Greteman. Greteman couldn’t begin to count the number of hours that he donated to this project, and could only say that he was dedicated to seeing it through because it was something very close to his heart. To show their appreciation, Steffes presented Greteman with a symbolic Knight trophy, that has incorporated a tennis racquet printed from the school’s 3D printer into the school mascot’s hand.
Member Organization of the Year
Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex- Home of the University Iowa Men's and Women's tennis teams. Hosted Men's BIG 10 Tennis Team Championship. Hosted $15,000 Old Capital Futures USTA MIdlands Junior Tennis Tournament USTA Midlands Adult Tennis Tournament USTA Klotz Winter Open Iowa 2A Girls High School Individual and Team State tennis tournament. 4 USTA Smasher Tournaments Free tennis clinics adult and kids to surrounding community. KIds Johnson County tennis league 30 kids Adult singles and doubles leagues, 80 player per week. Home for the Mayor Youth Empowerment summer tennis program for special needs individuals. Lessons provided to Special Olympic tennis athletes. Home of 18 USTA League tennis teams Hosted 46 USTA League matches, Hosted USTA DIstrict League playoffs. Home to University of Iowa USTA on Campus team. Full Staff of Net Generation professionals. Offering Net Generation programming. Home of the Hawkeye Junior Tennis Acadeny. Host 10U TENNIS PARTY. Offers a full array of junior and adult programming. Cardio tennis classes. Excellent use of social media to keep community informed of tennis information.
Outstanding Adult/ Senior Tournament:
Baird Iowa Open- Mark Fiala has resurrected this tournament at the adult level back to the quality it was back in the boom of tournament weekend tennis in the 1960's and 1970's. This ever popular director keeps the Iowa Open at the forefront of tournaments around the state of Iowa and this tournament continues to be the longest running consecutive state tennis tournament event.
His attention to details is second to non; some of the old "perks" remain in terms of tournament communication, results brought to the attention of the media and tennis enthusiasts around our state, and a venue and organization that brings a significant number of participants each year. The Iowa Open is typically played at he Veterans Memorial Tennis Center and upgrades particularly to the courts make this a great tournament at an outstanding facility.
Chief assistant, Rusty Graff, an outstanding tennis player, coach, manager of Westfield, and tennis buff in a very positive sense works with Mark Fiala and particularly with seeding, draw making, and sharing his expertise is an added bonus to this huge event. Elmcrest country club really rolls out the red or perhaps green carpet in hosting the mixed doubles events on Friday night and provides a great meal opportunity that feeds so many involved with the Iowa Open Tennis Tournament each year. The Robert W. Baird Company, under the direction of tennis standout, Doug Wenzel, is the premiere sponsor of this tournament in recent years.
Outstanding Junior Tournament
Mississippi Valley Open- In this 50th year of Juniors playing in the MVO we had a wonderful celebration honoring the key volunteers and workers that have made our tournament a success. Ten individuals were recognized, presented a plague and treated to a barbecue dinner. The tournament went well, the organization,scheduling and seeding helped to complete the play in two days. Volunteers were key also as 4 other sites were used along with the Dbq Golf & Country Club, where all finals were played. Consolation play gave all players the opportunity to have a lot of competition. Nearly 80 players saw action with the 16 age bracket with the biggest numbers, 23 boys and 14 girls in singles. Our main sponsor, Premier Bank, provided water and ice at all centers. Our other 12 sponsors helped with the pizza party on Monday evening for players and parents. A certified USTA official ensured appropriate behavior and enforced tennis rules. The history of our tournament was highlighted and featured in the local Telegraph Herald newspaper as they again did an excellent job of covering the tennis highlight of the season. The Carter Giese award was again presented to an outstanding young player.
High School Coach of the Year
Dave Will- Dave is a winner; there might be hesitation to allow him to be selected for this award after being a repeat winner earlier in his stellar career, but no one perhaps in any sport, deserves to be recognized for a premiere award like this than Dave Will in the sport of tennis.
No other coach has come close to winning the number of doubles titles than Mr. Will; no coach has won more team titles in the sport of tennis or any other interscholastic sport than Dave Will. Whether it is big-school, little school, or just one class of competition like the good ol' days, that's Dave Will in the position of coaching excellence year-in and year out. His dedication may be second to none; he is also an exemplary teacher in talking with instructional peers, students current graduates of Columbus Catholic, or the countless administrators that he has worked through and performed brilliantly day in and out for the sailors of Columbus High.
It would be challenging to find a better human being and we are all fortunate to have Dave Will spending as much time as he does working with the lifetime sport of tennis and this ageless wonder just keeps ob plugging along for the state of Iowa, the Iowa Tennis Association, and efforts in the IHSAA and the IGHSAU.