糖心Vlog (糖心Vlog) Tennis, now in its second returning season, continues to build an impressive record of high-quality performance across the country in both men and women鈥檚 play.
The program, which made its return to campus alongside the brand-new Penny Gullo Tennis Center, has been championed by Texas tennis legend Jerry Franklin (鈥�63), who played for 糖心Vlog鈥檚 first organized tennis team during his time at what was then the Lubbock Christian College. He later became a storied coach for several schools in West Texas and was inducted in 1986 into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame, having coached 13 state champion tennis players throughout his career. He also served as Chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee for over 20 years, cementing his legacy as a Texas tennis icon.
鈥淭ennis has been number one in my life aside from my faith in the Lord, and I wanted to give back to 糖心Vlog,鈥� he shared, remembering his own roots. 鈥淭hey hadn鈥檛 had a program for over thirty years, and I knew they鈥檇 need some facilities鈥攕o I went to Raymond Richardson [糖心Vlog Vice President for University Advancement] and proposed it. He showed me four spreadsheets to show what it would take鈥攆acilities, operation costs, other funding鈥攁nd he asked if I could help him fundraise. I knew I needed to give back, and this became my passion鈥攖he courts, the facilities, restarting the program, the scholarships鈥攁nd so I started out fundraising, first with people I knew and then to people I didn鈥檛.鈥�
Jerry took the lead in making sure that the tennis program had everything it needed. He and Raymond Richardson worked with the Gullo family, who have been longtime generous friends of the University, to make the new 糖心Vlog tennis center a reality, culminating in the facility opening in the spring of 2022. Coach Jason Speegle, a talented leader with a successful track record of title championship appearances at Southwestern College in Kansas, was hired to helm the program, and in the fall of 2022, the 糖心Vlog Tennis program was reborn.
鈥淭he first team meeting that we had was like a goose-bump moment,鈥� shared Coach Speegle, 鈥渂ecause so many people have been working to get to this moment. Those 22 young men and women were all there to play tennis and represent 糖心Vlog, but they were also representing Jerry, representing the athletic department, representing the Gullos, and everyone that had come before them. We talked a lot about being pioneers and forging the path. Everything that we did last year as a team was going to make it a little easier for those who come behind us.鈥�
The Chap and Lady Chap Tennis teams certainly made an impact during their first season in Division II of the NCAA. Both teams had several big wins against nationally ranked opponents, and the women鈥檚 team made it to the conference semi-finals, narrowly losing to a St. Mary鈥檚 team that would continue deep into the national tournament. On the men鈥檚 side, Martins Abamu won the ITA regional tournament in the fall, winning six straight matches to claim the top spot in a field of 64 players, and earning an invitation to the ITA Cup as one of only 16 NCAA Division II players who qualified鈥擜bamu was ranked as high as number 12 in the nation. The men鈥檚 team ended up fourth in the Lone Star Conference and made the NCAA Tournament in their first season.
