Chieftain Tennis Is All Aces -- Former Star Player, Now Coach, Restores Power To Seattle U. Teams

A lot has changed since Janet Hopps beat all the guys on her tennis team. Before there was Tom Gorman, there was Hopps, the first great tennis player from Seattle University.

In 1954, when she played No. 1 singles for the SU tennis team, there was no women's team. For that matter, there was no women's collegiate tennis. Coach Father Logan recruited her anyway. The only national collegiate tournament for women in the 1950s was the All-College Championships, not sanctioned by the NCAA. Hopps won it in '54, '55 and '56. She also won the doubles title in '54 and '56.

In a few years, she would garner a ranking of No. 11 in the world. In 1960, she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and the semifinals of Wimbledon. She still belongs to Wimbledon's "Eight Club," which entitles all former quarterfinalists tickets to Wimbledon for the rest of their lives.

"I was never the best in the world," Hopps said. "It was a disappointment. I worked for it since the time I was 12. In those days, there wasn't any money, it wasn't like Janet Hopps was a millionaire."

If she was playing today, she would be a millionaire many times over.

When a knee injury ended her playing career in 1961, she returned to her "home," Seattle U. Whenever she wanted, she could find a job at the university, working in admissions, or public relations or the athletic department.

She was a secretary in the athletic department in 1958 when Elgin Baylor led the basketball team to the NCAA finals, and when Gorman and Hopps' younger brother Steve led the tennis team to a fifth-place finish in the NCAA tournament.

Nine years ago, Hopps, now Janet Hopps-Adkisson, returned to Seattle U., this time to coach. The school had a women's team, but during some years it was an accomplishment if Hopps could get more than two women to come out. She had to teach the game just to fill the roster.

With the men's team, there was a different problem.

"When all of a sudden this woman coach shows up . . . the men were very negative to me," Hopps said. "But I ranted and raved at them. I finally got to them. Later on, one of them said to me, `If I only I had listened to you before . . .

"That's when I became very aware of the generation gap. These kids weren't even born when I was playing. They didn't know anything about me. All they saw was some woman coach."

There were no great female players at Seattle U. anymore. Hopps had to literally beg players to come out. She ran advertisements in the school paper. The well-intentioned begging didn't do as much for the team as scholarship money, first offered for tennis at Seattle U. in 1988.

In 1990, the men's team and the women's team had winning seasons at the same time, for the first time ever. This season, the Chieftains are making new history with their best record.

The men are 19-2, the women 19-4 for a combined 38-6 record. Tomorrow both teams will leave for Ellensburg, site of the NAIA District 1 tennis tournament. The team and individual winners advance to the national NAIA tournament in Kansas City.

"This season has tested me physically and mentally," said Dayna Maltby, a graduate of Cleveland High and the No. 1 singles player for the women's team. "I've actually cried over a double fault on the court. I expected a lot from myself. And she (Hopps) is tough. She doesn't put up with lackadaisical attitude."

The men, who started the season 11-0, have not lost a match to an NAIA team this season. Their only losses were to Washington State and the University of Portland. Both were lost by one point. The Chieftains' top three men, Bob Cox, Gary Schaab and Daniel Motais, are interchangeable.

The women lost to Washington and Idaho, and lost a pair of NAIA matches against Puget Sound. A team title at the district tournament is a reach, but the doubles team of Maltby and Jenny Adkisson, Hopps' daughter, is undefeated against NAIA opponents. Their only loss was to Cindy Olejar and Mary Reilly of Washington.

"These are the best two teams I've ever had," Hopps said. "The No. 1 goal when I got here was to redevelop the program and give them a chance to get to the national tournament. This is the closest, in my nine years, we've gotten to that realization."

. CHIEFTAIN TENNIS. . -- Seattle University tennis players and their records this season:. . Men Overall NAIA. . Gary Schaab 18-4 17-3. . Daniel Motais 20-1 19-0. . Bob Cox 20-2 19-1. . Rob Box 17-4 16-3. . Motais/Schaab 15-2 14-1. . Box/Cox 12-5 10-5.

. Women Overall NAIA. . Dayna Maltby 19-3 16-2. . Jenny Adkisson 15-5 12-4. . Kristy Box 11-2 10-2. . Maltby/Adkisson 17-1 14-0.