UW Athletic Hall of Fame: Jack Waite

BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider

MADISON, Wis. — Jack Waite remembers his recruitment to the Wisconsin men’s tennis team in strong, somewhat humbling detail.

He was good enough coming out of Waukesha South High School (Wis.) to receive multiple Division I scholarship offers, including Purdue, but his preferred destination wasn’t so generous.

Waite, the WIAA state singles runner-up as a senior, visited the UW campus and had dinner with then-coach Pat Klingelhoets. Waite was told he would be competing for the No. 6 singles spot. He was offered a walk-on spot.

“I didn’t expect that,” Waite said.

According to Waite, the two sides went back and forth before the offer was bumped to $500. At one point Waite said his grandfather, a UW grad, got involved and the offer soon included meals.

“I just wanted a little commitment,” Waite said. “I woke up one morning and decided that’s where I need to go.”

In short, Waite bet on himself and won big.

From 1987 to ’91, Waite became the winningest singles player in Wisconsin history. He won the Big Ten Conference singles title as a senior and was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 1991. He also received the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor, which goes to a senior who “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.”

Waite was just getting started.

From 1992 to 2002 he played on the ATP Pro Tour, competing in 35 Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open, Wimbledon) and winning three doubles titles. He also won 15 ATP Tour challenger championships and once found himself situated among the top 50 doubles players in the world rankings.

“If people looked at me in high school or college or early on, they never would have dreamed that I would have made it that far,” Waite said. “I certainly didn’t think it would have gone as far as it did, but I think other people would have been more surprised.

“Expectations were not very high. I don’t think from there that you think that person’s going to play in 35 Grand Slams.”

Klingelhoets said Waite was a good athlete and had good foot speed, but didn’t do anything on the junior circuit that would have set off recruiting alarms.

“He wasn’t one of these guys who were highly ranked or anything like that,” Klingelhoets said. “He just worked his tail off…