Senior economics major JP Gurnee has played tennis for over a decade. His passion for playing has turned into an assistant coaching job for the women’s tennis team due to Hillsdale’s lack of a men’s tennis team.
Tell me about your tennis background
I played a lot of tennis in high school. I started playing tennis when I was 12. So I was really into it, and all throughout my high school, I did tournaments and travelled around the Midwest with my little brother. I’m from Midland, which was Tennis Town, USA, like two years ago. We have this huge arena – a 16 indoor court arena – in our town which is weird because our town is pretty small. My little brother played and we played together a lot, so that’s kind of what started it. And I really like the individual aspect about it. You know, you can learn so much from tennis; people really don’t understand that. You have to go out there, and you’re on your own. In high school tennis, you’re not coached. So, when you go to these tournaments, you’re out there on your own, and you have to learn how to fight and self-correct. You learn who you are; you learn how to compete. I think it’s the greatest thing ever.
So, how did your position as the assistant women’s tennis coach come about?
I wanted to continue that, so when I got here – there’s no men’s varsity tennis team, which is a huge bummer – I talked to the athletic director. He got me in contact with Nikki Walbright who’s the head coach of the women’s team, and we had kind of an interview-chat type thing. She said I could help out as the assistant coach.
When did you start that coaching job?
That was my sophomore year. The team actually just started my sophomore year, so this was the third year now. So I’ve been involved since the start.
How does it feel to be part of the beginning and early years?
Feels great. I think the team has done especially well for being a year one team, year two team, and year three team. We’ve done really, really well all three years. The first year, we didn’t really have many super experienced players, so we’ve done really well. It’s been good. I think Wallbright does a really nice job and has done really well the last three years. She was coach of the year for the GLIAC Conference last year. She’s doing awesome, and I think the girls really respect her.
Have you had trouble balancing coaching and school? Or is it a similar time commitment as being on a team?
I think so. I go to all the practices, and I string racquets from time to time, too. And then all the matches. The matches are actually pretty time consuming, especially on weekends. Some weekends, we play three matches in a row, so matches take – well this year, we had some that were five hours long. There are some time constraints, but it’s not so bad. It’s actually really nice too because it breaks up your day, you get a little exercise, you get to hang out with friends.
How do the girls feel about having a fellow student as their coach?
I remember I felt a little strange about it at first because when I was a sophomore, I was coaching some of the girls who were older than I was which was kind of strange. But I think it has been fine. They’ve been really good about it. The biggest thing is when you’re watching a match and when you’re playing a match, it’s totally different. When you’re in the middle of the game, you don’t see things that sometimes someone watching can just easily tell. Sometimes I can just help them out by pointing something out that’s kind of obvious that they might not see.
How do you feel about the lack of a men’s tennis team on campus, and is there potential for one in the future?
It’s a huge bummer, but it’s been OK for me because I’ve made the best of it by getting involved with the girls team which has been really great. Will there be one in the future? I think it seems like there might be maybe in the next few years, but I don’t have anything confirmed about that.
