[Men's Tennis] Familiar Face Kingham Tapped as New Tennis Coach
Sometimes coaching searches can take an extended period of time and include candidates from a variety of geographical locations. Sometimes however the right person can be found without searching very far at all. Such was the case for long-time Williamson director of athletics Dale Plummer. When fourth year head coach Jason Kutzura decided to get out of coaching altogether, Plummer decided to consult Williamson's Placement Director and lifelong tennis player and coach Margaret "Weemie" Kingham to see if she knew of any local candidates. Kingham's answer to Plummer? "Me!"
"At first I thought Weemie was joking. I didn't approach her with any thoughts of her coaching the team. I know she was a great player and has been coaching for many years and is highly connected in the local tennis community, so who better to consult with than her," shared Plummer.
Needless to say, Kingham was not joking. The more Plummer thought about it, the more excited he got.
"No one knows the school better or cares about the students more than Weemie does, and few people have more experience coaching than she does, or are more connected from a tennis standpoint. The more I thought about it, it made perfect sense. We were able to chat about it and needless to say, we both are excited by her coming onboard.
Kingham replaces fourth year head coach Jason Kutzura who resigned at the end of the season due to seeking to take a break from coaching altogether.
"Jason was fantastic with our guys and great to work with. It was a long drive for him coming from New Jersey each day so it was a big sacrifice. We will miss him greatly and wish him nothing but the best," shared Plummer.
An avid player since she was six years old, Kingham was a ranked junior player in Pennsylvania. An outstanding high school player, she started her collegiate tennis career at St. Lawrence University (NY), before she eventually graduated from Mary Washington College in Virginia. Since then she has been playing in various leagues. She has taught countless hours of lessons and been a hitting partner with numerous players as well.
"I love the game, so the opportunity to help the young men at Williamson fall in love with the sport and grow and improve as tennis players, as well as Williamson young men, was too good to pass up. I am really excited by this, exclaimed Kingham.
Not lost in the hiring is the fact that in doing so, Plummer is making the first hire of a female head coach in the college's history. In 2010, the school hired the first full-time female employee ever in the athletic department in Head Athletic Trainer Sue Moffitt. Four years ago, the college hired its first female assistant coach in soccer coach Lauren Walker. In Kingham, the college has now hired its first female head coach. She then is taking things one step further by bringing in Mary Nell Rounds as her assistant coach, creating the first all-female coaching staff for a sport in college history!
"I was not thinking along those lines when we discussed the possibility of Weemie coming onboard, but I am excited for her and the college. And Mary Nell will do a great job as well. We always strive to put the best staff we can together for each sport for the players and in this case, I'd say we have done so once again," closed Plummer.