hall of fame & Awards ceremony 2020
DIGITAL PROGRAM
FEBRUARY 4, 2021 | 5:00 PM
PROGRAM AGENDA
Welcome Necrology Oklahoma Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame Inductees District Awards Sportsmanship Awards NJTL Essay Winners President's Award
2020 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
www.oktennishalloffame.com
Skip Griese' David Krunch Whitfield Kloberdanz.
2020 INDUCTEES
Skip Griese' was born in Stuttgart, Germany, into a military family that provided him the opportunity to travel throughout his youth, living in Colorado, Ohio, New York, Kansas, and Virginia. He arrived in Norman, Oklahoma, his senior year of high school. He attended East Central University in Ada where he played tennis for four years and earned a degree in education. After graduating from ECU, he accepted a job at Healdton High School where he coached football, basketball, baseball, and track. In 1980 he returned to East Central to be the Men’s Head Tennis Coach. During the four years at ECU, his teams won three Conference Championships. In 1984 he became Ada’s Boys and Girls Head Tennis Coach. He remained at Ada for 35 years as a coach and classroom teacher. During that time, his girls’ teams won five State Championships and seven Runner-Up titles. His boys’ teams won nine State Championships and ten Runner-Up titles. During his career at Ada, Skip coached 73 Individual State Champions and 53 All-Staters. In 2013 he received the National Boys’ Coach of the Year Award. He has also received the Oklahoma Tennis Coaches Association Coach of the Year Award ten times, two Oklahoma Coach’s Association Coach of the Year Awards, two Oklahoma District and two Missouri Valley Coach of the Year Awards. In 2016 he was an inaugural inductee into the Oklahoma Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame. Skip and his wife Debbie have two children and five grandchildren.
Class of 2019 Tim Leos Pat Ritchie Class of 2018 Jessica Braver Reineke Kathy Kraft West Class of 2017 Phillip Barnes Russell Warner Doug Boswell Class of 2016 Pancho Walthall Nathan Price Class of 2015 Ms. Lindsay Lee-Waters Mr. Steve C. Bickham Mr. Frank B. Ward Class of 2014 The Connelly Family Ms. Kelcy Tefft Flores Mr. Dick Villaflor Mr. David Martin Class of 2013 Ms. Jennifer Hall O’Dell Mr. Robert P. “Bob” McKenna Mr. Tim Ritchie Coach Jerry Keen Dr. Carlton E. Smith Class of 2012 Mr. Ronald C. Cox Mr. Rick Lashley Mr. R. Vance McSpadden, Jr. Ms. Susan Russo Class of 2011 Mr. Mark R. Johnson Mr. Glen Mullins Ms. Meredith Geiger Walton Ms. Janet Thomas Griffith The Braver Family (Betsy, Rob, Joe) Class of 2010 Mr. Cliff Price Mr. James L. Provines II Mr. Curtis Richmond Class of 2009 Mr. Andrew Jackson Kisner Mr. Paul Lockwood Mr. Richard E. “Dick” Land Class of 2008 Mr. Joe H. Pitts Mr. Ike R. Groce Mr. Gerald “Jerry” Hirst Class of 2007 Ms. Lisa Barry-Berg Mr. Arnold Short Mr. Richard M. Perry Class of 2006 Mr. Gayle David Bradshaw Mr. Colin Robertson Mr. James Wadley Class of 2005 Mr. William Charles Buckley Mr. Tommy English Mr. Roger Jack Class of 2004 Mr. John Been Mr. William “Bill” Davis Mr. Ray McSpadden Mr. Tom McSpadden Mr. Vance McSpadden Mr. Bill Rompf Ms. Mary Norwood-Rompf Class of 2003 Mr. Phil Landauer Mr. Wayne Hirst Mr. Paul Duffield Class of 2002 Mr. Clarence Dyer Ms. Kate Cushing Mr. Dwey Allen Mr. Dave Riley Class of 2001 Mr. Keith Marshall Ms. Willie Sue Wade Mr. Dick Spiers Class of 2000 Ms. Patsy Rippy-Bond Mr. David Bryant Mr. Dick Gilkey Mr. W. Don McNeil Mr. Gene Land Mr. Thurston Land Mr. Homer Robinson Mr. Wally Smith Class of 1999 Mr. Francis Baxter Mr. Charles Cunningham Mr. Ollie Gresham Mr. C.J. Hixon Mr. S.L. Shofner
1999
2019
SKIP GRIESE'
HALL OF FAME
In a chance family tennis outing at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center, when Krunch Kloberdanz picked up a tennis racquet at only 3 years old, his parents immediately noticed that he had an unusual knack for the game, and signed him up for weekly tennis lessons with esteemed coach Bill Rompf. Bill was reluctant to take on the youngster, but by age 4, he was rallying from the baseline, and he was off to the races in his legendary tennis career that followed in the footsteps of the other top elite players Bill coached throughout his different tennis academies, including Mary Norwood, Brian Devening, and Meredith Geiger. Through an intense hard work ethic, will, persistence, and determination, Bill taught Krunch how to use his small size to his advantage, and turned him into a tough fierce competitor starting at a very early age. By age 5, Bill had convinced Krunch’s dad to enter him into a 10 and under state tournament, and from there he was hooked and the success started quickly. top player in Oklahoma from ages 6-18. At age 8, Krunch first qualified for the Missouri Valley Tennis Association for the 12s and became the youngest player to ever reach 12s Nationals by competing in the 12s Indoors at Indianapolis. At age 9, he won the Oklahoma Endorser to the MVTA, which he ended up winning each year in his age group from 1983-1992, and ended with a #2 ranking in the 12s in the Missouri Valley. Starting that year at age 9 and going through the 18s, Krunch held the #1 ranking in singles and doubles in the Missouri Valley in every age group, and never held a ranking lower than #2. In 1985, at age 10, he won the top 10s US National tournament at that time—the Nick Bolletieri Easter Bowl Invitational. After winning this tournament, Bolletieri offered him a scholarship to train at his academy alongside some of the world’s greatest players. in 1987 he was also awarded the ODTA and the MVTA Player of the Year awards, as well as ending the year being ranked #2 in the USTA and ITF World Junior Rankings. He consistently maintained Top 10 national rankings in Singles and Doubles and finished his national junior career with 2 Gold Balls, 5 Silver Balls, 5 National Sportsmanship Awards, and inclusion on multiple US National teams. Even in his first year of different age groups, he hardly ever finished outside the Round of 16s, and had many quarterfinals or Top 6 finishes at different national tournaments. Krunch also represented the US in 1989 in Sao Paolo, Brazil in a USA vs Brazil Cup match which included the top 2 boys and girls players in the US in the 14s, 16s and 18s. This was one of his career highlights as it also included two other Oklahoma Tennis Hall of Fame inductees and legends - a reunion with his coach Bill Rompf as the coach for the US Team, and fellow teammate Meredith Geiger. Krunch was allowed to enter the Oklahoma Junior-High (7th-9th grades) State Championship individually as a 7th grader and won the tournament. He had an esteemed high school tennis career, including winning multiple SPC Championships, and in all four years he captained the team, played #1 Singles and Doubles (with brother Paul), and was awarded the team MVP each year. The summer before his senior year of high school, in his first year of 18s, he was selected to participate in the US Olympic Festival in San Antonio, and ended up finishing 6th at the US 18s Nationals in Kalamazoo. That year Krunch also partnered in doubles with fellow Oklahoman, Brandon Bethea, to finish #1 in Missouri Valley and #12 nationally. As the top ranked 1st year of 18s player in the country, he ended up choosing to continue his tennis career at the collegiate level to play for Vanderbilt University. After winning his first collegiate tournament at Notre Dame his freshman year, over the next 3 years as a Sophomore, Junior and Senior from 1995-1997, each year he played #1 Singles and Doubles, served as Captain, was named All-SEC, and was an Academic All-American. In college, he had many top ranked singles and doubles wins including multiple wins over #1 ranked players and NCAA champions. Over the years, he has held multiple Vanderbilt Mens Tennis records, and to this day still holds the best doubles winning percentage for a season (1995-1996), and best career doubles winning percentage. During Krunch’s senior year, while holding a Top 20 NCAA ranking, he suffered a dramatic back injury during the middle of a match, that caused him to barely miss his goal of making All-American, and ultimately became the death nail in his tennis career. Determined to get past his lingering back problems, he persisted long and hard trying to battle back, and after the NCAA Championships his senior year, he began his pursuit of his lifelong dream to play the ATP Pro Tennis tour. But unfortunately his lingering back injuries and problems became too much to overcome, and Krunch’s pro career ended after only one year. In his one year on tour, he held world rankings in the mid hundreds in singles and doubles, and had very strong finishes across the Satellite Circuit in singles and doubles, including a Runner-Up finish. After concluding his tennis career, Krunch chose to go back to Vanderbilt University to attain his MBA in Finance, where he met his wife, Courtney. He decided to pursue the Wall Street path, with multiple stints in NYC before settling in Atlanta, by going to work for Lehman Brothers, subsequently Credit Suisse and currently at UBS in their Private Wealth Management Division. When he was told he couldn't go by Krunch in the "real world", he proved his naysayers wrong once again by officially making Krunch his legal name. In his financial career, he is the senior partner for Odyssey Wealth Management, holds the distinguished Certified Financial Analyst designation, and has received several distinct honors including being named to Barron’s illustrious Top Financial Advisors in the US list, and was nomiated for Wall Street’s Top 40 Under 40. He resides in Atlanta with his wife and children, Palmer, Bailey, and Whitfield. He loves coaching all three of his kids across various sports, is an avid golfer, and enjoys playing music in two bands - one with his friends and one with his kids.
KRUNCH KLOBERDANZ
2020 AWARD RECIPIENTS
Adult Player of the Year (4.5 & Above): Lee Crowley Adult Player of the Year (4.0 & Below): Megan Tulloch Junior High Performance Player of the Year-Female: Emma Staker Junior High Performance Player of the Year-Male: Omar Oudeh Emerging Junior Players of the Year-Female: Eloise Nasr Emerging Junior Players of the Year-Male: TJ Shanahan Tennis Family of the Year: The Clark Family Facility of the Year: Racquet and Health 91 Member Organization of the Year: Hidden Trails Country Club Organization Outstanding Community Tennis Association: First Serve OKC Foundation Outstanding Contributor to Youth Tennis Programs: Mariah Burke Outstanding Contributor to Youth High Performance Program: Jenny Marcos USTA Junior Team Tennis Organizer: Brad Lund High School Coach of the Year: Mary Hudson Outstanding Diversity Achievemet: Tony Mullican Distinguished Service: Jim Shaughnessy Outstanding Contributor to the USTA League Tennis Program: Michelle O'quin Outstanding Adult/Senior Tournament: Greens Country Club " Hearts for Hearing" Open Outstanding Junior Tournament: L6 USTA OK Oakwood Summer Open Outstanding Official: Becky Riggs
First Serve OKC mission is to strengthen the lives and enhance the character of Oklahoma City youth through tennis and education while providing positive adult mentors in a safe and healthy space with daily educational support, nutrition, life skills lessons, & tennis drills at the OKC Tennis Center.
Omar Oudeh is Omar is ranked #1 in the Missouri Valley in the Boys 16's and in addition, is ranked #46 in the nation in the Boys 16's. Recently advanced to USTA National Indoor Championships with doubles partner Nicholas Heng.
Shaugnessy has been in the tennis industry for 25+ years most of those being here in Oklahoma. Not only has he been a USPTA certified teaching professional for that long, but he has also been a nation-wide leader in technological advances when it comes to stroke mechanics and exercise science.
JIM SHAUGHNESSY Distinguished Service
RACQUET & HEALTH 91 Facility of the Year
HIDDEN TRAILS COUNTRY CLUB Member Organization of the Year
MEGAN TULLOCH Adult Recreational Player of the Year
This organization goes beyond just introducing tennis, they also discuss health, exercises, sportsmanship, mental strength to their members, so that their members can improve their quality of life and make tennis a sport they can play for a lifetime. New Tennis Director Elizabeta Babb has taken Hidden Trails to a new level.
TJ SHANAHAN Emerging Male Junior Player of the Year
2020 has been a breakout year for TJ Shanahan as he has elevated his game and competed with the top players in Oklahoma and around the Missouri Valley in three age groups – Boy’s 12, 14 and 16’s. Shanahan has won a total of 7 tournament during the first months in 2020.
RH91 continues to make improvements to what was already an incredible location for tennis. It is dedicated to tennis, health and wellness, and involvement in all areas of tennis programming. The facility offers programming from peewees up to the junior high performance level up to adult leagues and social events.
Megan Tulloch has been playing USTA tennis for less than 5 years. In that time she has quickly moved her rating up every season. In the past 2 years shes been on over 20 teams and is a tenacious singles player.
Emma Staker has the highest national ranking of any Missouri Valley player in any age divisionat #6 in the country in the Girls 18's. Staker received a full scholarship to play at the University of Oklahoma next year.
LEE CROWLEY Adult Player of the Year
OMAR OUDEH High Performance Male Junior Player of the Year
ELOISE NASR Emerging Female Junior Player of the Year
EMMA STAKER High Performance Female Junior Player of the Year
Lee Crowley has played USTA tennis since 2000. He has played in both the Southern Region as well as the MoValley. Lee has been to Districts in 08, 14, 17, 18 19 and 2020. He's been to Sectionals 3 times and to Nationals twice. Lee is not only a winning Men's 4.5 player, his sportsmanship is admirable.
FIRST SERVE OKC Outstanding Community Tennis Association
Eloise Nasr began the year ranked #106 in the Missouri Valley and nine months later was the No. 1 ranked Oklahoman in the Valley Standings List and ranked #20 in the Valley, up 86 places. Nasr won 4 titles while winning 12 consecutive matches.
MICHELLE O'QUIN Outstanding Contributor to USTA League Tennis
Mary Hudson has been the Guthrie High School tennis coach for 20 years. She has been on Oklahoma Coaches Association Advisory Board, she was Oklahoma Coaches Association President, in 2018 All-State Tennis Coach, and in 2019 Inducted into the Oklahoma Tennis Hall of Fame.
USTA L6 OAKWOOD Outstanding Junior Tournament
GREENS COUNTRY CLUB "HEARTS FOR HEARING" Outstanding Adult/Senior Tournament
BRAD LUND Outstanding Junior Team Tennis Organizer
Brad Lund, director of tennis development for the BCC Tennis Academy in Oklahoma City, has made Junior Team Tennis a top priority for the faith-based academy’s annual programming. Lund started JTT in 2017 at the academy and has won numerous USTA District and Section Championships with his teams.
In a year with plenty of challenges, Michelle O'quin's planning and dedication has gone above and beyond. O'quin hasmanaged to re-arrange, reschedule and modify every adult league that Oklahoma has to offer and accomodate adult players to participate safely in the pandemic year.
The Green's Country Club & Suzanne Labelle has won the Adult tournament of the year three years in a row. The Greens consistenly hosts Adult socials, Adult tournaments, and benefits.
Since joining First Serve OKC in May of 2019, Tony Mullican has improved the quality of programs and number of students served by over 50%. Tony has been instrumental in securing over $75,000 in new funding, 25 new volunteers, and over 600 of hours of volunteer time. Tony's most significant impact is in his ability to engage students as they gain independence while teaching them the value of a diverse and inclusive community.
As a native from Tulsa, she comes from a competitive junior playing background. Mariah catapulted herself into the teaching world and has been extremely successful in the past few years. As a young, female, new to the world of teaching, she exudes every quality needed to be an outstanding contributor of youth tennis.
JENNY MARCOS Outstanding Contributor to Youth High Performance
Over the past four decades, the Clark family have become a household name in Oklahoma tennis circles – with accolades extending on-and-off the court, in the classroom and throughout the Tulsa community. All tennis enthusiasts starting with the Toby & Julie Clark, Tim (22), Zeke (21), Grace (20), & Lily (12) .
BECKY RIGGS Outstanding Official of the Year
MARIAH BURKE Outstanding Contributor to Youth Tennis
Oakwood Country Club in Enid, Oklahoma and tournament director Matt Lopez volunteered to host a tournament that had been forced to move due to Covid-19 restrictions. Taking extra precautions to ensure safety… this tournament still received exemplary feedback results from the parents and players.
MARY HUDSON High School Coach of the Year
Becky Riggs was an official at the USTA Missouri Valley Sectional & District Junior Team Tennis Championships, National Adult Championships in Oklahoma City & Tulsa. She also officiates ITA college matches. She is always professional, firm, courteous, focused, respectful and helpful to all of the players.
Coach Marcos has started and grown the high performance program Hidden Trails Country Club. Thanks to Coach Marcos, high performance juniors located in South Oklahoma City and nearby communities and now have a closer place to home in order to attend and receive high performance instruction.
TONY MULLICAN Diversity Achievement Award
THE CLARK FAMILY Tennis Family of the Year
Girls 10: Hope Gempel Girls 12: Laila Wong Girls 14: Quinn Leos GIrls 16: Carrington Hessen Girls 18: Aubrey Bailey Boys 10: Parrish Swanson Boys 12: London Koehn Boys 14: Ray Smith Jr. Boys 16: Trenton Kanchanakomtorn Boys 18: Cole Knutsen
2020 SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Sportsmasnhip for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way" -Jim Courier
Girls 10 & Under- Hope Gempel Boys 10 & Under- Lucas Brown Girls 11-12: Sarah Bensalah Boys 11-12: Andreas Markey Girls 13-14: Bryana Mayberry Girls 15-16: Faith Hill Boys 15-16: Sean Wu
2020 ARTHUR ASHE ESSAY WINNERS
"Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome." -Arthur Ashe
special thanks
USTA OKLAHOMA PRESIDENT, MARY JO TASKER USTA OKLAHOMA BOARD MEMBERS OKLAHOMA AWARDS COMMITEE RODNEY O'DELL, Chair CARMEN BOND DAWNA JOHNSTON PETER McCORKLE OKLAHOMA TENNIS FOUNDATION AND YOU!
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