Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

I always imagined that by my senior year in college, I would “have it all figured out.” Coming out of high school my world was filled with possibilities, and a seemingly endless amount of unanswered questions. How successful could I be as a college tennis player? What would my career path be? What else did I have to learn about the world? What kind of adult would I become?
    
I had imagined that college would take me through a process in which all of those possibilities were explored and my questions were definitively answered. If my life was a sandwich line at Subway, I figured that by college graduation I would be checking out at the cash register with my finished (and expensive) sandwich, ready to eat. What I instead found out while in college was quite the opposite. Every time one question was answered, two more took its place. Every time I added more ingredients to my sandwich, the buns seemed to get bigger, leaving more space to be filled. I have learned a lot over these last 4 years, the most important of those things being that I have plenty more to learn yet. I am not, nor never expect to be a finished product. One thing I know for certain is that without the people that I have met throughout my life due to tennis, I would have never even made it this far. Many of those people I am going to get the chance to thank in this salute. To the many others who I don’t have the space to address specifically on this page, thank you for all of your support.
    
First of al,l I have to thank the coaches in my life. My high school coach, Jack Olwell, would have had every right during my 4 years of varsity tennis at Farmington to write me off as a lost cause. I certainly wasn’t the most talented on the court, only winning 6 matches combined my junior and senior year, and my attitude didn’t do me any favors. Day in and day out for 4 years, coach Olwell saw something in me that I couldn’t yet see in myself, not only the ability to play a high quality of tennis while controlling my emotions and representing myself well on court, but also the ability to be a strong leader and a responsible person. Coach, I want to thank you for having the patience to see me through, and know that even though I wasn’t always capable of following your advice back then, your words weren’t lost on me.
    
As my two current coaches know well, my mistakes didn’t end in high school. Halberg and Duden, I cannot say enough about how much each of you have helped me to not only develop my tennis game, but also grow as a human being. Duden, I want to thank you for being patient with me as I tried to grow from a high school boy into an adult. I’ve broken racquets, screamed like a mad-man, gotten point penalties, almost got into a fight with another coach, and even spontaneously cramped right before I was supposed to shake my opponent’s hand. Even though you may have been mad at me at the time, I never once felt like you abandoned the hope of me figuring out how to act. I still won’t be winning any awards for conduct in the near future, but I’m a lot better than I was freshman year because of you. Halberg, I want to thank you for taking an interest in me as a person. You’ve spent countless hours of your time helping me on the court, and it has become abundantly clear to me that you care deeply about all of your players off the court as well. I will never forget you calling me into your office to talk about school and see how I was doing after my dad had his heart attack. It meant a lot to me to know that I had yours and the rest of the team’s support during that time, and was one of the first times that it really occurred to me how this team had become a kind of extended family to me.
    
Next up are the current seniors, Collin, Garen, and Warren. You guys really have been with me since day one. Coco, thanks for being a kick-ass doubles partner this year. Even though I can’t get a return in to save my life, you are always there to say supportive things like, “just get one in, all we need is one.” Even though this season hasn’t been filled with as many W’s as we wanted, it was a lot of fun playing with you, and if anything, at least we can say we beat Gustavus! Also, I want to apologize for kicking your bunk sophomore year, I went too far. Garebear, thank you for providing me with four years of comedic relief, some intended, others by accident. I will never forget you, as one of the most injury prone kids on the team, warming up with your shoes untied, and simultaneously not ever understanding why I thought it was a weird thing to do. But hey, sometimes you just gotta throw caution to the wind. War Pup, you taught me the exact opposite. Through four years of college and three years as roommates, I have consistently tried to throw caution to the wind, and you have consistently been there to make sure that I don’t self-destruct. Even though it would’ve been easier for you to not, you have constantly kept me grounded and provided me with an example of the right and responsible thing to do. Thank you for looking out for me and being the one guy I can always count on. You…complete…me. And because this thank you wouldn’t be right without it, I have to throw in one last “Dammit Warren” for the road.
    
Finally and most importantly, I owe a thank you to my parents. Mom, thank you for your unfailing support. Its no secret that you aren’t the biggest sports fan in the world (besides with the Vikings,) and although it isn’t exactly your thing, you have came to my matches time and time again ever since I was playing Farmington Junior Team Tennis. You have brought me water bottles when I inevitably forgot to bring one, cheered for me when I wasn’t doing anything on the tennis court worth cheering for, and been patient with me through my many embarrassing moments on the court. You have taught me one of the most important lessons that I have learned in tennis, that I should never let myself live or die by what happens on a tennis court, and I should appreciate the people who care about me regardless of what happens in a sport. Dad, thank you for introducing me to the game that I love, and letting me learn to love it on my own terms. When I chose to quit tennis earlier in my life and focus on basketball because it was “cooler,” I would have understood if you were disappointed that I was giving up on a sport that you loved so much. Yet you never once forced me to do anything if I didn’t enjoy it, and when I eventually burnt out of basketball, I ended up liking tennis even more because of it. Thank you for spending endless hours on the court with me, dedicating your time and offering up your wealth of knowledge on the sport even though it was constantly met with frustration and anger. Thank you for believing in me when I didn’t, and constantly pushing me to be the best I can be as a person and a player. Thank you so much Mom and Dad, I love you both.
    
And now some parting words for the players I am leaving behind! Holm, you surprised me a lot with how well you played last year being thrown into the lineup as a freshman, and although I know you haven’t played up to your own expectations this year, I believe you have two more years of great tennis left in you, as long as you don’t give up on yourself. Zuzek, nobody needs to tell you how much better you’ve gotten in 2 years, and that sleek new bod sure helps. Ps. I buried her. Brett, I know you too haven’t quite played up to your expectations this year, but you’ll be surprised what a relaxing summer in Manitwoc can do for your tennis game! Brenden, you’ve gone from having a limp foot like Keyser Soze to being one of the better movers on the team, now you just have to use those new-found legs of yours and run up to the net! Last but not least, SWAN!! The moment you dodged my attempt to wring my shirt out over your head, I knew you were destined for success. After seeing how much you have improved in just a season of playing college tennis, I can’t wait to see the player you turn out to be. Keep Grindin. Also one last thank you to the graduated players of the past, Gavin, Booby, Rangitsch, Lunka, and Puff; you guys taught me a lot of lessons, and most of them are too inappropriate to put in this salute, but needless to say I appreciated them all. Thanks.
    
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