Rielley becomes first tennis player to enter Rockhurst University Athletics HOF

March is Women’s History Month and USTA Heart of America is featuring Maureen Rielley, a former USTA Missouri Valley junior standout and recent inductee into the Rockhurst University Athletics Hall of Fame—a first for a tennis player at the school.

Born and raised in Kansas City, Rielley took to tennis at a young age. Her father, Richard Rielley, was a lifelong tennis player who played for Bishop Miege High School before starring at the University of Notre Dame. He was eager to show his children just how fun tennis could be.

Following in the footsteps of his mother, Bereniece, a tennis pro at Plaza Tennis Center, Richard Rielley brought Maureen and her older brother and sister to the old Leawood Country Club for tennis lessons, clinics and eventually matches as part of the club’s junior tennis league.

“My mom had to bribe me throughout my childhood to get me to keep playing tennis,” Maureen Rielley said. “This involved a lot of American Girl doll and Beanie Baby purchases.”

As time went on the Rielleys joined and trained at other clubs in the area, including Alvamar Racquet Club in Lawrence and Overland Park Racquet Club, where Maureen Rielley trained until she left for college.

From the age of 7 to 18, Maureen Rielley and her siblings traveled year-round playing in national and section tournaments.

“Some of my favorite tennis memories were our trips to Tucson, Arizona at Christmastime for the Copper Bowl and Super Nationals,” Maureen Rielley said. “The scenery and weather were so beautiful. Our parents would take us to see neat places like the Old West town of Tombstone and Old Tucson, where many old westerns and John Wayne movies were filmed.”

After graduating from Bishop Miege High School, Maureen Rielley joined the Saint Louis University women’s tennis team before transferring to Rockhurst University, a welcome return to her hometown. At Rockhurst, she was a force of nature both on and off the court.

She was named to the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) team three times and was the 2011 GLVC Player of the Year. That same year, she helped lead the team to the GLVC West Division title and won the ITA Midwest Regionals singles competition.

Her academic prowess also netted her an Academic All-GLVC selection, and she was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete. All her accomplishments for the Hawks made her a selection for the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame 2025 class.