Nov. 5—Fifty years later, members of the first women’s tennis team at Missouri Southern State University recall their days as sports pioneers fondly.
The team was put together in 1974 after Betsy Taylor and Terrie Dresh played basketball on the first MSSU women’s team that winter. In spring, the basketball team split as some formed a softball team while Dresh and Taylor pursued tennis.
“That basketball team gave us the courage and the incentive,” Dresh said. “We thought, ‘Here it is the spring. Let’s do a tennis team.’ I think basketball started everything.”
Fifty years ago this fall, Southern launched its first women’s team, and the Globe is looking back in a series of stories at the first days of women’s athletics at the university, as well as highlights of the last half-century.
On Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, former female athletes will gather for a social and dinner, and on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, those athletes will gather for brunch and will later be recognized at halftime of the Missouri Southern/Pittsburg State University basketball game.
Recruiting players
Taylor and Dresh recruited the rest of the tennis team, finding four other players. Other members of that first team were Vali Watts, Chris Duncan, Cindy Garrison and Nancy Walton. They were coached by Sallie Beard, who was also the first head coach of women’s basketball and softball, and later coached track and field. She went on to serve as athletic director at the university.
Dresh had played tennis at high school in New Jersey. There, she remembers having opportunities for women’s sports. She said she was fortunate that way, and those high school experiences inspired her to create opportunities for women’s sports at Southern.
Watts played tennis at Carthage High School. She heard about the MSSU tennis team forming and was interested not only in playing, but also for a chance to socialize. Watts didn’t stay in the dorms during college, so this was a good opportunity to interact with other students.
Both women remember Beard as a dedicated coach. Dresh said Beard was a talented tennis player herself and was able to teach skills and instruct their play. It was sometimes challenging, since Beard was also the head softball coach and she had to split her time between teams.
For her part, Beard remembers her tennis team being high-caliber and competitive.
Out of necessity, the team was also independent.
“It’s because of the experience they had before that I was able to split my time and leave them on their own,” Beard said. “When I wasn’t there, they organized their own practices and knew what to do. They were resilient, they showed tremendous commitment to seeing that we had a season that took shape.”
In that first season, Watts said, they played Drury University, Ozarks Technical Community College and Evangel University. When traveling for matches, she remembers riding in an old station wagon driven by Beard. The team passed the time by telling jokes and silly stories. They got along well on and off the court, she said.
“I don’t remember having a teammate who thought she was a better player,” Watts said. “We all got along fine and would help each other out.”
“That first group of women were very brave to do it,” Dresh added. “It was something new, and they gave 110% out on the court. We were just thrilled to be a team and to be able to play for the school. The fun we used to have … I’ll never forget that part.”
Early challenges
There were challenges. The players had to buy their own uniforms, matching shirts and khaki or white shorts. They also had to buy their own tennis balls and rackets.
They only had six players, the minimum required for a team. That left them with no reserves in case of injury. But no one got hurt.
Dresh also noted it was sometimes a challenge to be recognized at the university. Women’s sports wasn’t even mentioned in the yearbook until 1976, and the tennis team wasn’t featured until 1977.
Today, tennis is the only one of the women’s teams started in 1974 no longer fielded at MSSU. The program was dropped in 2009 after a series of budget cuts at the university that also claimed men’s soccer.
Both Dresh and Watts said it’s a shame the university doesn’t offer tennis anymore, especially because tennis is a lifetime sport.
“When I heard that Missouri Southern wasn’t doing tennis anymore, it really made me sad,” Dresh said. “You don’t see us playing basketball anymore, you don’t see us playing volleyball after we get out of school. But with tennis, that’s a lifetime thing, you can do that forever.”
Looking back, Watts is grateful for the self discipline and toughness that first season of tennis taught her. Now her young granddaughter plays tennis on some of the same courts where she played. The next time they go to Joplin, she said she plans on taking her granddaughter by the university tennis courts and telling her about that time on that first team.
“When I look back on it, that was really something,” Watts said. “I’ve not done too many firsts of things, so it’s a neat thing.”
Tennis still remains a part of Dresh’s life as well. She often plays pickleball now, and a few months ago at Schifferdecker she noticed three courts over some of her friends were playing tennis. One of them was Garrison, her teammate from that first tennis team. She was still playing and competing in that lifetime activity.
“I’m just very blessed and fortunate being on the first women’s tennis team,” Dresh said. “That’s quite an honor. It’s something, to be honest with you, I don’t take lightly because of what it meant for sports at Missouri Southern for all women.”
