By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Saturday was an opportunity for the local tennis community to celebrate its proud heritage with the induction of its 10-member Topeka Tennis Association 2024 Hall of Fame Class at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Mary Brownback and Kent Lammers, former college players and longtime supporters of Topeka tennis, were inducted into the Hall of Fame along with eight former city high school stars, who all won state championships during their prep careers -- Cory Buck, Drew Hanson, Trevor Hedberg, Shane Johnston, Branden Joost, Sean McManus, Sumeet Patel and Alex (O'Neal) Trobough.
Topeka Tennis Association 2024 Hall of Fame inductees (from left) -- Sumeet Patel, Alexandra (O'Neal) Trobough, Branden Joost, Drew Hanson, Trevor Hedberg, Shane Johnston and Sean McManus. Not pictured: Cory Buck. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Mary Brownback, 2024 Topeka Tennis Hall of Fame inductee
Kent Lammers, 2024 Topeka Tennis Hall of Fame inductee
"We all grew up playing together and I was a couple of years younger, but we were all on the court at the same time, running the same drills and it was nice because we had this little bit of camaraderie growing up in juniors and high school tennis and the coaches all knew each other, too,'' said Trobough, a three-time state champ at Hayden.
"The tennis community has always wanted to support one another.''
Retired longtime Washburn Rural coach Kevin Hedberg, a charter member of the local hall of fame, said Saturday was a special night for him as his son Trevor along with former Rural stars Hanson and Patel, who were a part of the Junior Blues' run of three straight Class 6A state team titles, were inducted into the shrine.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really thrilled and I knew all of these kids so well that I'm thrilled for all of them,'' Kevin Hedberg said. "They all worked at it and there's a lesson for the kids today that you can't do this halfway. You've got to be all in and these guys were and they were rewarded for it. It's a thrill.
"It's wonderful to see them all now as men and women, with children.''
Trevor Hedberg, a state doubles and team champ at Rural, said that it was a honor to join his father and his teammates in the hall of fame.
"My dad has quite a legacy with tennis in Topeka and there was a time in my life where tennis was a really big part of it, from 14 to 21,'' said Trevor Hedberg, a college professor at the University of Arizona. "And even though I've kind of moved on beyond that now, this certainly does mean something now and I think it's not really about me, it's more about the collective group and just being surrounded by all of these great players that were all playing at the same time.
"I played doubles with a lot of the players and played against them in singles, sometimes in the same tournament. I think back then it was really easy to get caught up in the competitive aspect of it and worrying about how you're stacking up against all these other people and lose track of the bigger picture of how much you're accomplishing along the way and also losing track of the team-oriented accomplishments. It's certainly cool to come back.''
Hall of Fame capsules:
Mary Brownback
MARY BROWNBACK
Brownback lettered three years in high school tennis (1973-1976), placing second in state doubles 1974-1975 and placing fourth in state singles 1975-1976.
Brownback lettered four years at the University of Kansas (1976-1980), winning the Big 8 No. 3 singles title in 1977 and 1979. Brownback helped Kansas win the Big 8 team title in 1979 (team was made up of all Kansas residents).
Played on the Missouri Valley circuit as a junior and played 4.0 USTA team tennis several years.
Cory Buck
CORY BUCK
Buck was a member of Topeka West's varsity tennis team for three years.
Buck teamed with Shane Johnston to win the Class 5A state doubles championship as a junior in 2005, with Buck and Johnston posting a 34-4 record.
Buck placed 10th in 5A singles as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore.
Drew Hanson
DREW HANSON
Hanson teamed with Sumeet Patel to finish second in Class 6A doubles his freshman year and won the Class 6A state singles championship his senior season.
Hanson was inducted into the Washburn Rural Hall of Fame in 2022.
Hanson was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year in 2005-2006 and was named Washburn's most valuable player in 2006-2007. Hanson was a three-time MIAA team champion and posted 56 singles wins and 60 doubles wins.
Trevor Hedberg
TREVOR HEDBERG
Hedberg played doubles for Washburn Rural in 2003, 2004 and 2005, finishing ninth in the Class 6A state tournament in 2003 before posting a third-place state finish in 2004 and teaming with Sumeet Patel to capture the state doubles championship in 2005.
Hedberg was a frequent competitor in USTA events, winning dozens of junior tournaments in the Missouri Valley Region.
Hedberg played collegiately at Baker University four seasons and served as the Wildcats' team captain 2007-2009. Currently teaching philosophy as a professor in the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona.
Shane Johnston
SHANE JOHNSTON
Johnston played four years of varsity tennis for Topeka West, highlighted by a 34-4 junior season that ended with a Class 5A state doubles championship.
Johnston graduated from Topeka West with 101 match wins.
Johnston was selected to multiple All-City, All-League and All-Regional teams.
Branden Joost
BRANDEN JOOST
Joost was a four-year singles standout for Shawnee Heights, winning a Class 5A state singles championship and also posting a runnerup finish.
Joost was ranked top 30 (singles) and top five (doubles) nationally at the University of Arkansas his first three collegiate seasons before returning home to play at Washburn University, where he earned his degree in corporate communication.
Joost is currently director of tennis at Northland Racquet Club.
Kent Lammers
KENT LAMMERS
Lammers played tennis at Washburn University and was team captain and named most valuable player his senior season.
Lammers served three consecutive two-year terms as president of the Topeka Tennis Association. Founder of the Topeka Tennis Hall of Fame and implemented one of the first public/private tennis operating models for Kossover Tennis Center through Wood Valley Racquet Club, Shawnee County Parks and Recreation, and Topeka Tennis Association.
Co-owned and operated Wood Valley Racquet Club and Fitness Center for 12 years. Participated in numerous fundraising efforts for Washburn's tennis teams and the Washburn Tennis Complex capital improvements. Participated in the “Finish the Dream” fundraising project to expand Kossover from 9 to 18 courts.
Sean McManus
SEAN McMANUS
McManus earned All-City, All-League and All-State recognition all four seasons at Hayden.
McManus won the Class 4A state singles championship in 2003 and 2005 and helped Hayden win the 4A state team championship in 2004 and 2005. McManus was named the Shawnee County Most Inspirational Athlete in 2005.
McManus went on to play at Saint Louis University from 2005 to 2009, earning Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors in 2008 and named the team Most Valuable Player in 2008.
Sumeet Patel
SUMEET PATEL
Patel earned All-City, All-League and All-State honors all four years at Washburn Rural.
Patel, a state doubles champion as a senior, taught tennis at Wood Valley Racquet Club for four years before moving to Memphis, Tenn.
Patel currently resides in Frisco, Texas, serving as staff tennis professional and special events coordinator at TBarM Racquet Club in Dallas.
ALEXANDRA (O'NEAL) TROBOUGH
Trobough posted a standout four-year career at Hayden, playing No. 1 singles all four years of competition and winning Class 4A state singles championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
She led the Wildcats to 4A runnerup team finishes in 2006 and 2007 and was named All-City, All-Centennial League and All-State all four year years at Hayden and was named the 2008 Shawnee County Most Outstanding Female Athlete.
