Tennis: Ottawa High renames courts ‘Henderson-Guenther Tennis Facility’

Before entering the tennis courts at Ottawa High School, one will see a sign that boasts the impressive list of the team sectional championships and state finals placements the Pirates boys and girls teams have earned over the years.

Starting in 1954 and continuing for almost five decades, those titles were captured under the leadership of coaches Tom Henderson Sr. and Lyle Guenther.

Early last week, before the current Pirates topped rival La Salle-Peru, the two were honored for their contributions to OHS tennis by having the courts renamed the Henderson-Guenther Tennis Facility.

Henderson’s boys and girls teams compiled a 740-113 record, helping OHS dominate the North Central Illinois Conference for 47 years. His teams won 47 district and sectional championships and earned 17 finishes in the top eight of the state, including the boys squad taking third place in 1971.

During one streak, the Pirates’ girls team had a streak of 116 straight NCIC wins.

He was recognized as the Illinois High School Tennis Coach of the Year in 1971 and 2000. He was inducted into the IHSA Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame in 1987 and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Illinois High School Tennis Coaches Association (one of only three coaches to receive the honor) in 2018. He also is a member of the Illinois State University and Ottawa halls of fame – his 1969-70 boys tennis team also is in the OHS Hall.

During the summers, Henderson, who began his coaching and teaching career for one year at Streator High School, also won more than 100 trophies in United States Tennis Association events throughout the Midwest.

Henderson died in January 2021.

“When we had the memorial service for my dad, one of his players came and told me a story,” Tom Henderson Jr. said. “He told me he first met my dad when he was a freshman, and [my dad] talked him into going out for tennis because he didn’t play a spring sport. He told me that his family lived out on the west side of town, they didn’t have very much money, and he couldn’t afford a racket. My dad bought him one. He told me my dad really worked with him to get better and took him to events in the summer; and it wasn’t until later he found out those events had entry fees, which my dad paid it.

“He then said when he was a senior, my dad told him that many of the Ottawa players go on to play tennis in college. He told me that at the time there was no way money-wise that could happen, but my dad helped him find a way to earn a scholarship to be able to not only play collegiate tennis, but also get a degree.

“It was truly a side of my dad, not that it surprised me, but I didn’t know about until that moment. I’m guessing this wasn’t the only person that my dad helped in this kind of way. So beyond the naming of the facility here for maybe his on-the-court accomplishments with Lyle, it’s my hope that some of the reason for this was what my dad did outside the game of tennis as well.”

Starting in 1959, Guenther as a head or assistant coach led or helped lead Ottawa’s boys and girls teams to a combined 69 district or sectional titles. He also started the girls program at Ottawa.

Guenther garnered many accolades during his coaching career as well, including a selection as IHSA Girls Assistant Tennis Coach of the Year in 1988 and induction in the IHSA Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame in 1990.

An accomplished and consistently ranked amateur tennis player, Guenther said one of the highlights of his tennis playing career was competing with his son, Mark, in father-son doubles. The duo earned a No. 12 national ranking in the division in 1991. He is a member of the Illinois Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame.

“This means an awful lot to me, and it’s a wonderful thing they’ve done,” Guenther said shortly after the dedication. “Tom and I put a lot of time here at the tennis courts over the years, and I missed a lot of meals and time with my family. But it was so fun to not only be with the kids we coached on the teams, but also the kids and adults that we helped with lessons and summer programs.”

“Without an indoor facility, we had to do a lot of thinking outside the box. We’d come up with drills that we could do in the gym, or drills the kids to do on their own maybe in their garages or basements.

“Tennis is a game that anyone can play at some level, whether it be supercompetitive or just for fun, and for a long, long time. I didn’t stop playing until I was 80.

“I’ve played a lot of tennis in my life, but teaching the game still holds a special spot in my heart.”