Pusch Ridge Christian’s tennis team should be riding high this week.
The Lions’ boys finished the regular season with a 15-0 record, and hold the No. 2 seed in the Division II state tournament starting Tuesday. Pusch Ridge’s girls went 9-6 — and while they missed the postseason, they more than doubled last year’s win total.
But instead of cheers, there have been an awful lot of tears.
Coach David Towne will retire from Pusch Ridge after 15 years with the school.
Towne, the principal of Pusch Ridge’s middle school, will become the director of professional development at the Leman Academies of Excellence.
The Star caught up with Towne this week to talk about his favorite memories at Pusch Ridge:
Getting started
Pusch Ridge started girls tennis in 2004. Towne assembled a team of kids who had never played before, and — perhaps predictably — went 0-16.
“I was in the hallways begging girls to join the team,” Towne said. “We lost every match and it wasn’t even close, but we had fun.”
Three years later, several freshmen-turned-seniors won the state title.
“That was really rewarding,” Towne said. “It was amazing. They stuck with it.”
Building relationships
Towne loves creating and nurturing relationship with people. It’s what makes his new job exciting — and what will make leaving, in his words, “so gut-wrenching.”
Towne has attended the weddings of former players and has officiated the marriage of two former players.
Joey Lodge, a lawyer and one of Towne’s former players at Flowing Wells, visits once a week to watch and support the Lions.
“There’s a little boy out there named after me because of the influence of tennis,” Towne said.
“Before every match I ask the kids, ‘Why are we out here?’ It’s got to be more than tennis. It’s life, community, culture, getting to know other people, dealing with the struggles of life.”
State championships
Pusch Ridge’s boys won their first state title in 2011, upsetting Sedona Red Rock, Fountain Hills and Thatcher as underdogs.
Some of Towne’s fondest memories are coaching his two daughters to individual and team titles. Mya won a singles title in 2005 and team titles in 2007 and 2008. Sami won a team title in 2010.
In 2013, Michael Houser — the Lions’ No. 3 singles player — was trailing 5-0, and was serving down love-40 in the state tournament. Houser came back to win that game — and six more — to win the second second set 6-5.
Houser went on to win the third set to help the Lions capture a state team title.
“That is a memory I’ll always have. Can you imagine?” Towne said. “It’s been a great ride.”
