Bio

With his 1989 national championship tennis team set for induction into the Cowley College Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, January 18, legendary tennis coach Larry Grose reflected on what made that team so special.

Grose, who was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008, began coaching at Cowley in 1988. The team Grose inherited took last in Region VI in his first year as coach. However, then began a chain of events that helped put the wheels in motion for the first-ever national title in Cowley College history.  

The first important happening was making the critical decision to move from NJCAA Division I to NJCAA Division II. Then Tiger athletic director Ron Murphree came to Grose and said that the NJCAA was developing a new Division separating the “Full Scholarship schools” from the “Parcel Scholarship Schools”.

“Knowing that the Jayhawk Conference was just that and no chance of ever becoming a full Scholarship conference I gladly opted to declare Division II,” Grose said.  

The second big thing that happened was at the end of the first semester Coach Grose lost three players.

“I dismissed one for team and school violations and two became academically ineligible. Wow, I was in big trouble,” Grose said. “I went to Ron Murphree and told him my dilemma. I remember him saying to me “Larry, what do you want to do, it’s Christmas vacation”. I said I want a tennis team. He looked me in the eye and said “Well you better get to work.” Well, I did just that! My son Jason and I spent that Christmas calling coaches and making recruiting trips to Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Wichita. When all the smoke cleared we had recruited three great young men to join us. We had a tennis team with no reserves in case of sickness or injury. That is how the second semester began.”

The second important ingredient to bring this team to its maximum potential was the schedule.  The schedule was built around the philosophy of finding the best competition available and not worrying about the won/loss record.

“We played NCAA Division 1,2, NAIA, and the top junior colleges in Oklahoma and Texas,” Grose said. “Not to mention at that time Region VI with Johnson County in Overland Park, KS, was a top-five team in the nation.”

The third important happening was the practices.

“This group was a tough, strong competitive group that worked hard in drills and practice sets,” Grose said. “They hated to lose even against their own teammates. I broke up more than one confrontation that spring.”

In match play even though often, times Cowley would be over matched with the likes of Wichita State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma University, Tulsa, and the mighty Oklahoma City University Chieftains (who won five national titles consecutively) this Tiger tennis team competed from the first point to the last one. Their attitude portrayed aggressiveness and tenacity.

“It made me very proud the way they represented themselves, the team, the college and our beloved community,” Grose said.

Cowley was so dominant at the national tournament that they had wrapped up the team title at the end of the fourth day of competition. With Jason Grose and Tim Shanahan teaming to win the national title at No. 2 doubles and Bill Shaw becoming the national champion at No. 2 singles Cowley brought home the school’s first national title.

“It was a great week and the beginning of a new and wonderful era for junior college tennis,” Grose said. “I am glad that they were the first team to start the adventure. What made the group so ready for the national tournament can be summed up by Bill Shaw’s statement to me as he prepared for his finals match at No. 2 singles. He was on his assigned court waiting for his opponent to arrive and he called out to me to come out on the court, which I did. He said “Coach, this tourney is a piece of cake after the blood bath schedule you have put us through.” We both chuckled and my reply was “well maybe if you win this match”. He did! The team was mentally tough, physically prepared and began to feel quickly that we were one of the teams to contend with. We were definitely in the hunt. They could see the championship in their grasp and pursued it with a vengeance.”

Other members of the team were, Dan MacDonald, Doug Owens, and Eric Wedemeyer.

“I am so very proud of these young men and what they accomplished in the classroom and the tennis program while at Cowley,” Grose said. “They certainly hit an ace serve and set the bar high for the teams that followed after them.”

That is all fine and good but there is something even more impressive. Former Cowley tennis coach J.C. Louderback always told his players and teams “Boys, you must propagate the sport and give back to those following you. Remember, someone older than you taught you and gave of themselves so you could learn and develop your skills to become a tennis player.”

Coach Grose carried that theme with his teams.

“That is what I am most proud of with this group,” Grose said. “Besides every one being outstanding examples of citizenship, fathers, and husbands, every one of them have their finger in the tennis world. Yes, for sure they are giving back to our beloved sport. I am most proud to call each of them my friend. I never felt like I had a job, I was too busy having too much fun with these guys. Hail to the Cowley Tigers.”

Jason Grose

Son of legendary tennis coach, Larry Grose. Jason teamed with Tim Shanahan to capture the national championship at No. 2 doubles. After Cowley he attended Northeastern State University where he was a member of the tennis team and graduated in 1991 with a Business Administration Degree.

He then went to work for The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, FL where he spent 11 years traveling and coaching Juniors on the National and Professional Satellite tour. He is currently the Director of Tennis and Fitness Programs at University Park Country Club, in Bradenton, Florida, and also serves as the Director of Tennis at the Fairfield Beach Club in Fairfield, Connecticut in the summer time. 

Tim Shanahan

A freshman on the 1989 national title winning team, Shanahan advanced to the semifinals in singles and teamed with fellow Australian, Mick Evans, to reach the finals in doubles at the 1990 national tournament. The team nearly captured a second straight national championship before settling for a third place finish.

After Cowley, Shanahan went on to earn All-Conference honors while playing tennis at Oklahoma City University. Following graduation from OCU, Shanahan went on to become a highly successful women’s tennis coach at the school. He was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year/NAIA Region 6 Coach of the Year each year from 1994-2002. He was also named the ITA/Wilson NAIA Women’s National Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1999.

In 1998 he became  Director of Tennis at Woodlake Racquet Club. Since 2003 he has served as the Head Tennis Professional at The Greens Country Club in Oklahoma City, OK.

He was inducted into the Cowley Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. 

Bill Shaw

The national champion at No. 2 singles during the 1989 title run, Bill Shaw went on to become a member of the University of Kansas tennis team where he graduated in 1991 with a Recreation Management Degree. After graduating from KU, Shaw moved to Dallas, Texas where he started his tennis teaching career. During his more than 25 years as a USPTA teaching professional, he has been Director of Early Childhood Development at Brookhaven Country Club, Director of Junior Development at Lakes Tennis Academy, voted Texas Pro of the Year, and currently serves as the Director of Juniors Development at the Courts of McKinney. 

Dan MacDonald

After graduating from Cowley College Dan McDonald went on to play tennis at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa university). He graduated from Mesa State College with a Business Administration Degree in 1993 and is currently entering his 15th year as head coach of the men and women’s tennis teams at Colorado Mesa University. He has been a USPTA teaching pro for over 25 years and runs MacDonald Tennis LLC. 

Doug Owen

After Cowley Doug Owen played one year of tennis at Washburn University. He eventually returned to playing team tennis with former Tiger Tim Shanahan. He currently works at Ark Valley Distributing (Budweiser) in Arkansas City and credits Coach Grose for getting him started in the game of tennis.

Eric Wedemeyer

After graduating from Cowley College Eric Wedemeyer went on to finish his degree at Oral Roberts University. He then went to work at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, OK for a couple of years before moving to Oklahoma City, OK where he worked at several clubs before landing the Director of Tennis position at Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond, OK. 

Head Coach Larry Grose

Having led the Cowley men’s tennis team to national championships in 1989 and 1991, head coach Larry Grose was inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. He guided the Tiger men’s tennis team to 16 top-10 national tournament finishes in 18 years. Grose coaches 32 All-Americans during his 18 years and captured nine Region VI titles.

Along with the national titles Grose helped the Tiger tennis team win, his squads also captured numerous national and regional academic titles. On three different occasions, 1993, 1997 and 1998, his teams were named the National Academic Team of the Year.

He currently resides in Bradenton, FL.