Stone named IWU men’s tennis coach

Benjamin Stone
Benjamin Stone is program assistant for student recruitment at Heartland Community College. (Photo courtesy iwusports.com)

By WJBC Staff

BLOOMINGTON – Former Division III tennis player Benjamin Stone has been hired as the new men’s tennis coach at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Stone, whose full-time job is program assistant for student recruitment at Heartland Community College, is a 2011 graduate of Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, where was a four-year letterman and two-year captain for the Beavers. As team captain at Buena Vista, he assisted the head coach with practices, recruiting and coordinating team travel.

“I am thrilled to join the Illinois Wesleyan family and coach the men’s tennis team,” said Stone, who is also a tennis instructor at Bloomington’s Evergreen Racquet Club. “My goal is to build the team into a force in our conference, while also building our players up to be men of integrity on and off the court. I hope that people will support the men’s tennis team this next year as we build the foundation for the future.”

“We are excited to announce Benjamin as our next men’s tennis coach,” said IWU athletic director Mike Wagner. “We believe that his experiences as a student-athlete and in his career are a perfect fit for our program. We have complete confidence that Coach Stone will lead our program to many successes in the classroom, in the community and on the courts.”

Stone worked at State Farm Insurance from 2012-13 before beginning his position at Heartland. At Buena Vista, he was involved in student activities board, Liberty Hall council, and leadership roles in campus ministry and student retreats.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…