St. Thomas men’s and women’s tennis coach Terry Peck notched his 500th career win Sept. 17 in the women’s 8-1 victory over University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
The victory brings his career win-loss record to 500-182, a record he has accumulated over 22 years coaching the men and 17 years with the women.
“It’s kind of a reflection that St. Thomas has had a lot of good tennis teams and good student athletes over the years most of all,” Peck said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be here all that time.”
Senior captain Peter Wright could not be happier for Peck.
“We’re just fortunate to have such a caring and great coach, and we’re really proud of him for his 500th win,” Wright said. “It’s a huge accomplishment for him, and it just says a lot about his loyalty to St. Thomas and how he’s been here for so many years impacting lives of different student athletes.”
He added, “We’re really proud to call him our coach.”
Peck coached high school tennis for 12 years and served as an assistant at St. Thomas for six years before becoming head coach. Peck remained humble about the accomplishment and even kept his players in the dark during the match.
“I really hadn’t told anybody about it really; a few of the players knew, and I kind of told them to just let it go,” Peck said. “I didn’t have any big moment over it. I kind of enjoy all the wins here at St. Thomas, and I can remember most of them.”
After 500 wins, Peck still has not lost his passion for the sport and especially his players.
“I don’t get bored, and I make sure they don’t get bored,” Peck said. “I’m sad when every group graduates.”
A more laid back style of coaching may not be what players are used to, but it seems to be something they enjoy.
“He’s always just fun. I’ve never heard him be negative towards anyone,” junior Kirsten Haukoos said. “He always tries to get everyone involved. He knows that we can always do our best, and he tries to push us to do our best during every practice.”
Junior Brian McCarthy agrees.
“He keeps a good atmosphere,” McCarthy said. “No one really gets burnt out. We’re always doing something new and doing something fun, so it gets us motivated to keep coming back.”
As well as his teams do on the court, Peck is most proud of his teams’ performance in the classroom. Last year three men’s players and seven women’s players qualified for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association honors, with GPAs above 3.5.
“I tell them right away, it’s number one,” he said.
“Coach Peck has always understood everything that college students go through, he’s always been there to help guide us through our personal lives and making good decisions for our future,” Wright said.
Peck will try to get his 501st win when the men’s team travels to Gustavus on Sept. 28.
Tom Graves can be reached at grav5886@stthomas.edu.
Coach Peck is a great person.
Congratulations to my husband, Coach Peck!! He certainly has enjoyed his tenure at UST. He is an excellent teacher of tennis as he knows the game so well. He is an extremely perceptive master of the skills,competitive behaviors, and character required to succeed! Terry always frames wins around the players, their efforts, their needs for improvements and their team spirit. We do feel sadness when players graduate and we enjoy meeting new team players. What a wonderful recognition and definitely deserved. Love Mary Jo
Congratulations to Terry–a great teacher, colleague, coach, mentor, and person. This article captures Terry’s generosity and modesty. St. Thomas and the Tommie tennis players are lucky to have their experience with this remarkable mentor.
Congrats Coach! Quite an accomplishment.
The amazing story is that St Thomas doesn’t even have tennis courts. Don’t know how Coach Peck and the teams can be so successful without home courts. I do know he is a great talent and a real resource. Cheers to the Tommie Tennis Teams.
Congrats to Coach Peck and the Tennis Teams. As someone who works next to you, I have enjoyed our your positive approach and thoughtfulness. You and your teams have accomplished so much without all the resources other teams you compete against have. You have proven that the most important resource is you and your players and the work ethic all of you have had has led to an impressive record. A saying I like to use is, “The grass is always greener……where you water it.” You have been a great care giver of the program for a lot of years and I know first hand why your program has been a success. Congratulations!
Coach Tschida hit a home run with his comment. Coach Peck is St. Thomas Tennis.