Bittersweet milestone: Reflecting on Johnson's first tennis recruiting class
The class of 2024 will be head coach Gabe Johnson’s first recruiting class to graduate.
This year's graduating class marks a special milestone for the head tennis coach at Bethel, Gabe Johnson, since the class of 2024 is his first recruiting class.
There are three seniors on the men's tennis team this year: Milan Bucek and Micheal Cech, both from the Czech Republic, and Tomas Quercia from Argentina. Furthermore, there are two dominant seniors on the women’s side: Halle Krehbiel from Hesston and Nalea Payton from El Dorado. All of the seniors have played an influential role in the development of the tennis program at Bethel.
Each senior has exciting plans beyond Bethel as all five seniors are planning on attending grad school following graduation in the spring. Cech plans on obtaining his master’s degree in marketing and Quercia plans on getting a master’s degree in leadership. While getting their master’s degrees, Cech and Quercia hope to find a graduate tennis assistant program. Bucek shared that he plans on eventually starting his own business to be a recruiter in hopes that he can give other players like him the same opportunities that he had.
Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Payton has high aspirations as she will be attending medical school to become a physician. Krehbiel will also continue her education as she plans on getting her Master of Business Administration from Wichita State.
While graduating with a degree and continuing their education may be the end goal of these college students, tennis was one of the main factors that brought these seniors to Bethel. When asked about their tennis experience at Bethel the seniors expressed their love not just for the sport but for the team as well. Many of the seniors shared that some of their favorite memories was simply the time they spent with their fellow teammates, whether this was cheering for each other during competitions, or the van rides together before and after away matches.
“Coming in with such a large group my freshman year was a great experience and getting to improve alongside the same people for the last four years,” shared Krehbiel. “Getting to know each person has really been a privilege, and I’ll be sad to say goodbye.”
Payton shared similar feelings, “It’s been wonderful meeting and connecting with new people across all walks of life.”
Despite being Johnson’s first recruiting class, as freshmen, the men’s side did not fall short when it came to the height of their accomplishments. They performed well in conference play and the men’s team even picked up a win over NCAA Division II school Emporia State.
This was certainly a highlight for both the players and Johnson as Johnson shared, “The guys had a huge win against Emporia State their freshman year which I think opened their eyes to how strong of a team they could be. Michael, Milan, and Tomas picked up big singles wins that day.”
Fast forward to the spring of 2023, the women’s team beat nationally ranked McPherson, a team Bethel had not beaten since March of 2015. Payton and her partner came back from being down one-five to win their doubles match, while Krehbiel saved two match points in a tiebreaker-win, to clinch the doubles point. Payton also won her singles match to help the team in their 4-3 victory over McPherson.
Johnson highlighted this win, commenting on how far Krehbiel and Peyton have brought the Bethel women’s team by saying, “Both Halle and Nalea committed to a team with no players on the roster. To see them take the program from the bottom of the conference to beating a team with a national ranking and competing for a championship has been awesome.”
Johnson continued with his praise for all of the seniors, “They have persevered through the ups and downs of building a program that wants to compete at a high level. It is extremely fulfilling to see their hard work and commitment pay off.”
“They have persevered through the ups and downs of building a program that wants to compete at a high level.”
Gabe Johnson
The five seniors all had a similar sentiment for Johnson, each sharing the impact he had, not just on their playing abilities, but also on their time spent at Bethel.
“Having Gabe Johnson as a coach was a great experience because I never had such a young coach,” Bucek added. “There is not a big age difference between us and when he gave me advice on the court, it felt like one of my teammates was talking to me.”
Quercia also shared his positive feelings about Johnson, “Coach has helped me get jobs, be able to pay for school on my own, and basically feel like I have a second home, and I am really grateful for it.”
Finally, Krehbiel summarized the impact that Johnson has had on her during her time at Bethel by stating, “The opportunities he gives us and the way he looks out for our best interests have given me a lot of respect for him.”
