Introducing Your USTA Kansas Executive Board & Committee Chairs

USTA Kansas recently approved its 2021-22 Executive Board, and we want to give you the chance to get to know everyone! Over the next few months, we will take time to highlight each of the board members with a brief bio - in addition to your USTA Kansas Committee Chairs. 

Kate Foss -  USTA Kansas Board President

I was asked to join the board and become president by Past President Ron Wherritt, and got to know him through my league play and being a team captain. I started playing tennis in the 1970’s because I loved watching Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe play.  I played in grade school and high school for fun and took a very long break from tennis. I started playing again about six years ago and have watched my son play since he was five-years-old.

I love watching tennis on TV and attending tennis tournaments -  local, national and international. I enjoy watching juniors, adults and the pros. I have been known to miss a lot of sleep during events that are played in Europe and Australia, and schedule my work around certain matches.

As a USTA league player and captain, volunteer and official, I hope to help grow the game. We have seen a significant increase in new players during the pandemic and would love to provide opportunities for these new players so they can continue playing.

Beth Fischer - At Large Director

My earliest memories of tennis go back to when I was very young and my parents started playing. They put me in lessons so I would stop catching frogs and ring-neck snakes while they were trying to play.  (You can only take so many frogs and snakes for show and tell, after all!)  I played tennis in high school, finally earning a spot on the varsity team my senior year (because seniors were not allowed to play JV).  I took several years off while attending KU (B.S. in Occupational Therapy 1989), getting married and starting a family.  I have three sons whom I blame for my  “bleacher butt”,  gray hair and all my wrinkles! I  returned to playing tennis in my mid 30’s and I am a much better player as an adult than I ever was as a youth.  I have played on many women’s and mixed doubles USTA League teams over the past 15 years.  I am hoping to help grow the game of tennis at a community level. 

I  was recruited to the board by Ron Wherritt of Wichita. 

Nick Schulte -  At Large Director

Nick Schulte, 31, grew up in a big tennis family in Wichita, Kan., where he currently lives. Starting early, Nick developed a love for playing and watching tennis. He has been the assistant tennis coach at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School for the last four years. His days are spent with his baby son and as the operations manager and brewer for Third Place Brewing. Nick looks forward to helping grow the sport amongst young people and finding ways to keep players in the sport through young adulthood.

Janet Glaser - Junior Team Tennis Chair

Janet’s mom and dad, both USTA Missouri Valley ranked players in their day, taught her and her brother to play tennis while they were in elementary school. Her fondest memories are of the four of them traveling throughout the summers to tournaments where they would all compete in their various divisions. The fun and camaraderie at these tournaments are what she hopes to instill in Junior Team Tennis competitions. It has always been a tradition that on a birthday, Janet and her family play at least a set of tennis. Sometimes with the weather, this has been challenging to pull off. One year when her mom was in her 70’s, there was a huge snowstorm on her birthday. Schools were closed, roads were closed, yet they were barely able to maneuver the car to Genesis Health Club, where Simon Norman graciously stayed open long enough for the family to give her mom her “birthday beating.”