June 20, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Oscar Beich achieved a long-time goal when he was awarded the Illinois State men's tennis Benoni Green Endowed Scholarship for 2007-08.
"Having known Benoni Green for a long time, it was something I have worked hard for and hoped I would get," said Beich, who is a Bloomington native. "Benoni has seen me grow up as a player and helped me a lot along the way."
Beich brings a singles record of 48-31 and a doubles record of 42-29 into the 2007-08 season. Last year Beich found success recording an 18-12 mark in both singles and doubles.
Beich has high expectations for himself and the Redbirds for the 2007-08 season.
"I would like to show a little more leadership, not just verbally, but more importantly by example," Beich said. "I also expect our team to take advantage of our opportunities to improve until regionals, where hopefully we can perform and place better than last year. The goal is as always to win conference and go to nationals."
The Benoni Green Endowed Scholarship was established in 1998. The endowment was funded by friends of the former Redbird tennis player who competed at Illinois State prior to World War II. Green was a two-time conference champion and was named to the Illinois State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1973.
Green was the principal advocate for tennis in the twin-cities for several decades. He organized matches and often rewarded competitors with treats from Nestle-Beich, where he was a manager. He also played a role in the Bloomington Parks and Recreation and Evergreen Racquet Club junior development tennis programs.
First awarded in 1999, the Benoni Green Scholarship is one of 15 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes funded by private donors. Eight of them are fully-funded, including the Benoni Green Endowmed Scholarship.
For more information about supporting Illinois State University endowments for student-athletes, call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
