BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Marija (Neubauer) Pientka was one of the fiercest, most gifted athletes ever recruited to the Wisconsin women’s tennis team, something that made her coach applaud as well as cringe.
Kelly Ferguson coached the Badgers for 13 seasons, from 1981 to ’94, and was voted Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year four times. She chuckled more than once when discussing Neubauer Pientka.
“She was a handful,” Ferguson said. “One time I called her into my office and said, ‘Marija, I think it’s time I find you a new school.'”
Bear in mind that Neubauer Pientka had been a recruiting coup for Ferguson, the equivalent of a five-star prospect out of Rochester Hills, Mich. The idea that Ferguson would nudge Neubauer Pientka toward a transfer portal of sorts seemed far-fetched.
“I was a little bit of a hothead,” Neubauer Pientka said, “and she was a tough coach. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye because I was difficult, but she hung in there with me.”
With good reason, apparently.
Not only did Neubauer Pientka earn a degree in Journalism from UW, she was named first-team all-Big Ten four times – one of four in program history to be so honored – and she joined Amanda Gregory as the first doubles All-Americans by advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1992.
Neubauer Pientka, who played for the Badgers from 1990 to ’94, still ranks ninth on the school’s all-time wins list with an overall singles record of 84-60 (.583) and tied for fourth with a mark of 43-18 (.705) in doubles.
“When she lost, it wasn’t due to lack of effort that’s for sure,” Ferguson said.
Jill Chullino Laszewski was a junior at UW when Neubauer Pientka arrived on campus. Her first impression?
“Extremely competitive,” she said. “Hard worker. Very tenacious. Very gritty.
“She’s strong-willed. When she wants something, she goes for it.”
Neubauer Pientka’s college career coincided with the arrival of Barry Alvarez as football coach at UW, a move that changed the landscape of Wisconsin athletics forever and later…
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