There was no mistaking Roger Knapp's tennis prowess. By the age of 6, he had already claimed victory in the 10-and-under division of a city championship while growing up in Des Moines, Iowa.Knapp, 48, who suffered a fatal heart attack Sunday, was a high school and college tennis standout who went on to become one of the top 150 players worldwide by 1985. That same year he beat one of the top 10 players, Henri Leconte, at a tournament in Bristol, England.
After leaving the pro tour the following year, Knapp coached at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, and later at Drake University in Des Moines, where he helped the tennis team reach the NCAA tournament in 1992 for the first time in the school's history.
"That was a monumental achievement," said a friend...
No comments:
Post a Comment