Mendota tennis honors longtime coach Tom Corrigan

For more than 30 years, Tom Corrigan has “been the face” of the Mendota boys and girls tennis programs.

Corrigan started as a volunteer assistant coach with the Trojans in 1985 before taking over as head coach in the 1988-89 school year.

He served in that role until taking the freshman/sophomore coach position in 2015, when his longtime assistant, Shawn LeRette, took over as varsity coach.

Thursday was Corrigan’s last match with the program.

“I’ve enjoyed it,” said Corrigan, who led the boys team to sectional titles in 2014 and 2015 and the girls team to a sectional championship in 2014. “I’m here because of the kids. The kids are the reason I kept coming back. Next year is going to be tough. I’m sure I’ll be showing up here.

LeRette, the players, Mendota athletic director Steve Hanson and MHS principal Denise Aughenbaugh along with parents and fans honored Corrigan during Thursday’s match against Morris.

Corrigan was presented with a plaque. The players gave him several gifts, including a hat signed by all the players, and cake was served.

“It’s a small token of what we could do for him,” LeRette said. “He’s done so much for these kids and the program itself. To be able to honor him just a little bit is something we needed to do.

“He’s been the face of this program. I’ve enjoyed my 17 years here. He welcomed me knowing I had played tennis but had never coached tennis. I didn’t know I’d be doing it this long but having him as head coach then helping me out made it a whole lot easier to stick with it.”

Mendota senior Alex Stremlau, who provided the Trojans’ lone win with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles in Thursday’s 4-1 loss, said she was glad to be part of Corrigan’s program.

“I just feel honored that I got to be able to be part of his journey in this program,” Stremlau said. “The four years have meant so much. You can see his love not only for the players but this sport.

“He was always so positive. He always found ways to make us laugh when we were feeling down about ourselves. He’s always believed in us even when we didn’t. He’s just always a really positive light for the team. He always stayed true to his saying, that if we’re not having fun then he’s not doing it right.”

Although the varsity team lost Thursday, the freshman/sophomore squad sent Corrigan off with a 3-2 victory with a sweep of the doubles matches. The freshman/sophomore team is 7-4 on the season.

“I wasn’t expecting any of this,” Corrigan said about Thursday’s celebration. “I was figuring I’d just fade into the background. I never presented myself front and center. It’s always been the kids first. I’m just thrilled to death. I’m ending on a good note.”