Tennis Coach Brings Fresh Ideas to the Court

Mark Medow joined the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s athletic department with extensive experience and understanding of tennis.

Medow is the new head coach of the women’s tennis team. He has worked with internationally-ranked players in Europe and has played professionally in both the United States and Europe.

This is Medow’s first time coaching at a state university; he admitted that, in the past, he has worked mostly with individuals rather than teams. He is looking to expand the team, which currently consists of eight players.

“We want to strengthen this program and bring in experienced tennis players. There are some really outstanding young women in this program right now, and we’d like to increase the number of them,” Medow said.

Medow hopes to show people that the tennis program is growing in strength and quality. He wants to focus on enhancing each player’s self-image.

“You don’t win by reputation; you win by hard work and determination, which is what the team has been doing right now,” Medow said.

Katelyn Asfeld, a senior pre-occupational therapy major, is the team’s captain.

Asfeld enjoys being coached by Medow and is excited about how successful he’s been at incorporating the community this season.

According to Asfeld, Medow’s networking has made it possible for community members to come to practices and help the players gain more experience.

“These people from the community are having a blast coming to play with us college students,” Asfeld said.

Frances Weiss, a senior elementary education major, is thrilled to have Medow coaching her through her last season.

According to Weiss, Medow always takes the time to help each player improve individually instead of just focusing on the team as a whole.

Weiss believes that it would be beneficial for him to add more players to help the team grow.

“I already feel like with him as our coach, we have improved in the last few matches, compared to last year. I know more of what to do then I have in the past. We have been able to try new things and throw more skills out there,” Weiss said.

Caroline Chalk

Reporter

cchal845@uwsp.edu