 "Photo: The Current")
After nearly half a century at the college and 38 league championships, the Green River tennis program, as of next season, will be no more.
This was determined after the student government finance committee decided not to grant the full request for athletic facilities, a decision that necessitated the cutting of a sport.
The ultimate choice then fell to the Athletic Advisory Council, a group of faculty and staff supportive of athletics and Athletic Director Bob Kickner.
Short roughly $9,000, Kickner said the council, faced with the unfortunate realities, considered which sport could be eliminated with the least amount of impact on the students. "When we compared our teams, tennis floated to the top," he said.
Combined, the teams have 11 players – seven on the men's team, four on the women's – which makes it the second smallest program at Green River – only golf, which has nine players, has less. Of the 11 tennis players, two would have likely returned next year.
The total annual funding for the program, including coach salaries and facilities, is roughly $22,000, more than the shortfall.
The money that was saved will be spent on the track team - $3,000 - and facilities for the other sports.
The elimination marks another stage in the fall of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) tennis league. From its peak of 15 teams, less than half a dozen will remain, and Shoreline is considering cutting its program as well. This would leave the men's league with a mere three competitors; most other sports have around or over 20.
"I think it is horribly sad that Green River and Shoreline are both cutting their tennis programs after this season," said sophomore player Patricia VanderHoeven, adding that playing for Green River has been "one of the biggest blessings" of her life.
She's not the only one that's disappointed. For the team's first-year coach, Kermit Escame, this season was his first after nearly a decade-long break from coaching.
He joined Green River late this year and didn't have the opportunity to recruit any players, leaving both the historically competitive teams at or near the bottom of the league.
Escame is now working on trying to get the current players new places to play. Two of the players on the women's team are going to Division II schools, and some of the men have also found places to transfer to. "Hopefully they will all find their future tennis homes," he said.
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