Editor’s note: Don Hanson is the men’s and women’s tennis coach at SDSU. We caught up with him about the team’s young season, his retirement and the future of the program.
Q. How pleased were you with the way you played at Creighton on Saturday?
A. We were competitive in the doubles and could have won one of the doubles and picked up a point there. Their head coach (Tom) Lilly said that it was one of the toughest matches they have had all season. We were real pleased with the way that the men played. The men look like they are really set for a great Summit League campaign. The women also played tough. Jenny Blackburne went three incredible sets at #2 and Bryna Nasenbeny at #1 singles went three sets. Our #1 doubles lost in a tiebreaker, so again, we were very close to three more victories there.
Q. What are the challenges that you face with a sport with a limited budget?
A. Keeping everybody healthy. Keeping everybody happy. Making sure that the kids get up every morning at 5:30 a.m. so they get to training on time. Keeping a good, positive outlook and keep working hard. We all have a goal and on the men’s team it is to win the Summit League and for the women’s it’s to get to the Summit League Championships and then see what we can do.
Q. Why is now the right time for you to retire?
A. I’m 73 years old and been coming here for 11 years from Australia. I have lots of work to do in Thailand with orphanages and refugee camps. It’s time to spend more time doing what I am really called to do and that’s to work with these people. I have really enjoyed my time here. It’s been incredible to see tennis come from where it started to where it is now. I don’t regret any time that I have spent here, but there are times I think I could have been doing something a little better for some poor people in Thailand rather than traveling all over America playing tennis, but I have no regrets.
Q. How do you see the future of the program?
A. As far as the players go, the future of the program is great. We have constant requests for recruits all over the world that want to come here and play tennis. We are financially viable in the fact that we don’t over spend. I think that the program is very solid right now, but facility-wise, we struggle in the winter. In the fall, we have 11 beautiful courts at Hillcrest and when the snow goes away in the spring we are fine. We catch up once we start getting outside. It’s not the best, but it’s not bad.
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