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For more than three decades, Pacific
Lutheran University men's tennis has been synonymous
with success at the conference, regional and national
level.
In his 30 years (1970-99 as Pacific
Lutheran men's tennis head coach, Mike Benson built
the PLU program into what it is today - a conference
and regional powerhouse. Benson led his teams to
conference titles 24 times and to the NAIA national
tournament on 20 occasions. Benson's all-time PLU
men's tennis coaching record was 400-196, and during
that same 30-year period his teams compiled an incredible
166-18 record in Northwest Conference matches.
While Benson's retirement after the 1999 season
brought about a coaching change, there was hardly
a ripple in terms of the program's success. Doug
Gardner and Craig Hamilton - then co-head coaches
- led the 2000 and 2001 Lutes to the second round
of the NCAA playoffs. The 2001 team also won the
conference title, the school's 25th since 1970.
In 2002, Clayton Harris became the third former
PLU standout to return as a coach, giving the Lutes
an outstanding trio of mentors.
Now, Hamilton and another former PLU standout,
Jeff Allen, are coaching the team for the fourth
straight season. Allen, a 1987 graduate, was a three-year
letter winner for the Lutes. He was the 1985 Northwest
Conference singles champion and compiled a career
singles record of 49-27. Hamilton played for Benson
from 1979-82 and ranks fourth on the PLU all-time
singles wins list with 84. He received the NAIA's
Arthur Ashe Award as a senior.
As has been the case for the past three decades,
the Lutes play some of the best competition in the
country, annually trekking to warm-weather locales
such as California where they face nationally ranked
opponents. Benson’s thinking then was that
wins and losses aren’t as important as his
team getting the opportunity to perform against
some of the outstanding players—many tournament-wizened
imports from foreign countries—at small colleges
across the United States. That philosophy helped
shape Hamilton's and Allen's games, and they are
continuing that tradition.
Contact Info:
Head Coach: Craig Hamilton
Assistant Coaches: Jeff Allen and Ricky Butenko
Olson Auditorium
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
Phone: 253-531-6900, ext. 4322
Email: coachhams@hotmail.com
or allenje@plu.edu |
