PSU Women’s Tennis Coach named to NHIAA Hall of Fame

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The coach of the Plymouth State University women’s tennis team was recently honored by the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) for her outstanding career over the past 25 years as girls’ tennis coach at Plymouth Regional High School.

            Barbara Rawlsky-Willett was inducted into the NHIAA Coaches Hall of Fame at the organization’s awards banquet on March 21.  She has been the PRHS girls’ tennis coach since starting the program in1984, accumulating a record of 235-125.  She guided a doubles team to the state championship in 1989 and led Bobcats to undefeated seasons (16-0) and runner-up finishes in the state team tournament. in 1993 and 1999.

            Rawlsky-Willett graduated from the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul, Minn., where she played #1 singles on the women’s tennis team.  She has coached several sports at the high school level in both Minnesota and New Hampshire, including girls’ and boys’ tennis, field hockey, girls’ basketball, gymnastics, and girls’ and boys’ track. Rawlsky-Willett has also been a physical education and health instructor for more than three decades.

            “I am very honored to be inducted into the NHIAA Coaches Hall of Fame,” said Rawlsky-Willett.  “I’ve had many memorable moments in my coaching career. My fondest coaching moment was having Alison Nicola play her high school tennis season in a wheelchair after becoming paralyzed, or coaching grade school field hockey for four years where 11 of the 25 players went on to play high school field hockey and seven played on the collegiate level, including one national champion.  My most memorable game was the finals of the state doubles tournament or the state team finals in 1999.”

            A resident of Rumney with her husband Douglas, Rawlsky-Willett served one season as assistant women’s tennis coach at Plymouth State in 2003 and took over as head coach in 2004.  She led the Panthers to their first two Little East Conference championships in the program’s history in 2004 and 2006, and took the team to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament in 2007. 

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