The Observer, September 7, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 2
Varsity tennis team quits: 24 players leave in protest of Coach Rahn
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Case's tennis program stands at a crossroads. After last season, both teams came together and decided to discontinue their participation in the sport in protest of coach Nancy Rahn. Twenty-four players signed their name in a letter sent to then-interim president Gregory Eastwood citing the concerns and frustrations they have had since becoming part of the program.
One of the former players, men's captain Joe Smetona, is leading the push against Rahn. In a recent interview, Smetona gave his account of what has happened over the past three seasons and why he believes that Coach Rahn should be relieved of her post.
Smetona's first concern was Rahn's resume. As late as this July, Case's varsity tennis website posted that Rahn was a "two-time Pennsylvania state champion, once in singles and once in doubles." That resume has now been changed to read that Rahn "earned varsity letters in tennis" while at East Stroudsburg University and "was an accomplished player at Reading Senior High School." Smetona alleges that Rahn lied on her resume.
The new resume also goes on to say that Rahn is "active in the United States Tennis Association where [she] has completed her training to be an official, and is very active in USTA clinics throughout the summer months." However, Smetona feels that Rahn lacks experience. "She is just incompetent," said Smetona. "She doesn't have a very good knowledge about the game of tennis."
In the letter, Smetona also accuses Rahn of not recruiting and "that she consistently fails to return phone calls and respond to e-mails of prospective student athletes." He says that no one on the team during his playing career was ever recruited by Coach Rahn. However, there are 21 new players on the team this year: 15 men and six women. In addition, in the response letter from Athletic Director David Diles to the tennis teams, which was provided by Joe Smetona, Diles says "recruiting was underscored" by Coach Rahn during last season and during this off-season.
The original letter to Eastwood also brings to light the fact that the team feels Coach Rahn is very unapproachable. It cites an instance "when the women's team offered Coach Rahn suggestions to help them improve, and she responded with hostility and anger."
"She just takes suggestions as an affront to her authority," says Smetona. "It just makes everyone have a really bad attitude."
Smetona said that Diles has offered to meet with the teams to discuss the concerns in person. "Meetings aren't going to fix the problems that we have," said Smetona. "You can't fix that she is incompetent and apathetic." Smetona went on to point that the only way that he would come back was if Coach Rahn was indeed relieved of her post, which doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon.
"We have thoughtfully and comprehensively reviewed the issues brought forth by the tennis team," says Diles. "And after review we are convinced that Coach Rahn's leadership is more than competent." Coach Rahn says she is just looking forward to this season. "I'm not going to do anything different," says Rahn. "I'm going to give my players 100 percent when I'm on the court, just as I always have."
While the issue seems far from resolved, the new tennis team will focus on their first match at Ohio Dominican University next Monday. The team will look to make a strong showing in the beginning of their short fall schedule, consiting of two matches and two tournaments.
