Why Wichita Collegiate tennis coach Dave Hawley is retiring after record 59 state titles
After more than four decades and a Kansas-record 59 state championships, Collegiate tennis coach Dave Hawley officially filed the paperwork to retire at the end of the 2022-23 school year on Friday.
Hawley is considered a legend not only at Collegiate, but in the Wichita tennis community. He not only holds the record for most titles won by a Kansas high school tennis coach, but he has spent countless hours over the years training tennis players of all ages in the city.
In total, Hawley has led Collegiate to 59 team state championships out of a possible 73 and coached 35 singles champions and 47 doubles champions combined between the boys and girls programs. Under Hawley’s leadership, the Spartans have become the golden standard in Kansas.
“It’s just like I told the kids today: Not in my lifetime and not in your lifetime will they come across another tennis coach who has set the kind of standard that Dave Hawley has,” Collegiate athletic director Mitch Fiegel said. “Not just in terms of championships, but in terms of the kind of human he is, the type of example he sets in his program, his work ethic, what he stands for.
“A lot of people think this tennis thing at Collegiate just happens. Well, it doesn’t just happen. There has to be someone who makes it happen, and Dave has been making it happen for more than 40 years.”
After dedicating almost all of his time to help others in the Wichita tennis community for the last four decades, Hawley, 70, said he finally feels like it is time for him to spend more time with his family: his wife, Sally, and also his children, Zach, Meagan and Ben, and his nine grandchildren.
He made sure to mention his career wouldn’t have been possible without the support from his wife, Sally, who he said has encouraged him to coach for as long as he wanted. But the chance to spend more time with his family was too much for Hawley to pass up on.
After he steps down as the high school varsity coach in the spring, Hawley, also a middle school history teacher, plans to stay on as the middle school tennis coach for at least one more year. It was important for him to feel good about leaving the high school program in a good place for his successor, who has not yet been named.
“This has been in the works for a while and I have been looking for a way to gradually leave,” Hawley said. “Coaching middle school is an entirely different ball game. I’m not going to be worried about taking kids to three different tournaments on the same day or making decisions at the end of the season about who plays with who. It’s pretty much stress-free and I get done at 4:10 p.m. so I will have plenty of time to go watch my grandsons that live in Edmond, Okla., play baseball and football and basketball.”
Andover Central girls tennis coach Janet Glaser, who has been an assistant coach with Hawley for nearly two decades at Collegiate, said she hopes the coach who has given so much to others will enjoy finally taking some time for himself.
“He’s a legend and that goes without saying,” Glaser said. “It’s a loss as far as coaching because he is someone who is irreplaceable. But at the same time, it’s important that he has his time and he gets to decide when to go out. I think now he should really bask in the gratitude and love that he’s going to receive from past players and coaches.
“But I still feel like Rafa (Nadal) when Roger (Federer) retired. I wish this day would have never come.”
While there were several factors that played into the decision, Hawley said he knew he was making the right decision toward the end of this past fall season.
“These decisions you have to make as a coach about who plays with who and who you have to leave at home became something I really didn’t want to have to do anymore,” Hawley said. “I like the tournaments, I like the parents, I love the kids, but I was just tired of telling kids that are so worthy of going to regionals and state that, ‘I can’t take you because we can only take six and here’s who we’re choosing.’”
Glaser said that’s not an act: Hawley genuinely cares about his players, which is why the program has so much support from former players who are still interested in keeping up with the team. They remember how much their former coach invested in them, which in turn makes them invested in him.
“I know his win record is amazing, but it’s never been about the winning to him,” Glaser said. “He puts so much of himself into this for the kids. He wants it for them. I don’t know how else to tell people just how selfless he really is. He just has this way with kids of saying ‘good job’ that’s not just, ‘Good job.’ He says it in a way that makes them feel, ‘Oh my gosh, he thinks I did real well on that.’ And that makes them want to do well for him. There’s no one else like him.”
Hawley has always been a people person, but he admits he has always gravitated towards the younger generation. He feels like he’s a grown-up kid himself, even at age 70, and working with kids on a daily basis has kept him feeling young over the years.
“I just love the exuberance of youth, the hope, the possibility for what they could be, whether that’s on the tennis court or in the classroom,” Hawley said. “I think that’s why I’ve always loved working with kids and being around them.”
Hawley has helped develop average players into state champions and helped guide elite players to special careers at Collegiate. He has seen some of the best players to ever come through Kansas but has found just as much satisfaction in seeing junior varsity players improve.
When asked to pick his favorite moments from his illustrious career, Hawley didn’t hesitate. There is a laundry list of multiple-time state champions he could have picked or any number of title-winning teams he has coached.
There’s no doubt in Hawley’s mind that his favorite moments as Collegiate tennis coach were the ones he spent coaching his three children: Zach, Meagan and Ben.
“Being able to coach your own kids is really something that’s so special,” Hawley said. “Not a lot of people get to do that and I love the fact that they were all incredible parts of their team and they did wonderful things for our program. They won some championships and — even if they didn’t — the fact that they chose to come along with me for the ride was just a really incredible time for me as a dad.”
Collegiate tennis state champions under coach Dave Hawley
Boys singles winners
2022: Nick Grabon
2018: Wonjoon Cho
1996: Matt Wright
1995: Matt Wright
1994: Matt Wright
1993: Matt Wright
1992: Cort Asmann
1991: Francisco Rausa
1990: Francisco Rausa
1989: Paul Galichia
1988: Sanjay Khicha
1986: Shane Dart
1985: Steve Stokdyk
Boys doubles winners
2021: Luke Swan and Charlie Dunne
2019: Max Wheeler and Luke Swan
2014: Travis Osland and Max Mosely
2010: Miles Dunne and Brandon Somerhalder
2009: Paul Abromeit and Wyatt Kesler
2008: Miles Dunne and Brandon Somerhalder
2006: John Dunne and Spencer Moore
2003: Ben Hawley and Chris Pankow
2002: Ben Hawley and Matt Millsap
2001: Ben Hawley and Matt Millsap
2000: Jon Jost and Nick Handy
1997: Zach Hawley and Preston Jones
1996: Zach Hawley and Jamie Rheem
1995: Cody Simms and Brian Stembridge
1994: Cody Simms and Brian Stembridge
1993: Brian Simmons and Cody Simms
1992: B.J. Bates and Cody Simms
1991: Sanjay Khicha and Albert Pereira
1989: Chad Dyer and Fran Rausa
Girls singles winners
2022: Emma Mantovani
2021: Emma Mantovani
2019: Emma Mantovani
2013: Brooke Withrow
2012: Brooke Withrow
2011: Brooke WIthrow
2008: Elyse Bigler
2007: Jessica Ball
2004: Kristen Beehler
2002: Mallory Schwan
2001: Mallory Schwan
1996: Lisa Sutherland
1995: Megan Patterson
1994: Megan Sullivan
1993: Sarah Fleming
1992: Kalle Buehler
1991: Kalle Buehler
1990: Kalle Buehler
1989: Janet Rausa
1987: Lillith Rausa
1985: Laurie Cusick
1984: Laurie Cusick
Girls doubles winners
2022: Laney Conrad and Julia Herrman
2021: Lily Conrad and Ella Graham
2020: Lily Conrad and Ella Graham
2018: Hannah Geoffroy and Sydney Lair
2017: Hannah Geoffroy and Sydney Lair
2015: Hannah Osland and Allie Lindwall
2014: Hannah Osland and Allie Lindwall
2013: Hannah Osland and Allie Lindwall
2012: Morgan Bergen and Hannah Osland
2010: Jillian Johnson and Grace LeMaster
2009: Jillian Johnson and Grace LeMaster
2008: Kristen Dunn and Grace LeMaster
2005: Sarah Healy and Jessica Ball
2004: Sarah Healy and Kate O’Shaughnessy
2003: Lael O’Shaughnessy and Kate O’Shaughnessy
2002: Jessica Elkouri and Carrie Cox
2001: Jessica Elkouri and Katherine Healy
2000: Jessica Elkouri and Katherine Healy
1999: Clare O’Shaughnessy and Kelli Stembridge
1998: Clare O’Shaughnessy and Kelli Stembridge
1997: Clare O’Shaughnessy and Kelli Stembridge
1996: Amy Rheem and Caroline Walling
1995: Lindsay McRae and Amy Rheem
1994: Leah Small and Amy Rheem
1993: Leah Small and Amy Rheem
1992: Jenny Stevens and Leah Small
1990: Jenny Stevens and Stephanie Turner
1987: Janet Rausa and Elena Siems
