Profile · Neenah, Wisconsin
John Whitlinger
Born Neenah, February 4, 1954; Neenah High class of 1972; four WIAA singles titles and a 109-match streak; lives in Appleton
$1,500,000
John Whitlinger is the Neenah tennis standout who completed the rare NCAA triple crown at Stanford and later coached there for nearly three decades. Born in Neenah on February 4, 1954, and a Neenah High School graduate with the class of 1972, the 5-foot-9 right-hander was the first boy to win four WIAA state singles championships and ran a 109-match winning streak for the Rockets from 1969 to 1972. He collected eleven national junior titles, including Orange Bowl crowns in 1969 and 1970, and played for the U.S. Junior Davis Cup. Father Warren had played professional basketball; nieces Teri and Tami later reached the WTA tour. The town still calls the Whitlingers the first family of tennis. At Stanford in 1974 he won NCAA singles, doubles, and the team title in the same season—the Cardinal list him as only the fourth player to take singles and doubles together. Six years on the ATP tour brought a career-high singles ranking of No. 75 on June 2, 1975, and a Bermuda doubles title with Mike Cahill in 1976. He stayed at Stanford as associate coach from 1987 to 2004 and head coach from 2005 to 2014, finishing 160–85 with nine NCAA tournament trips and a share of nine national-championship staffs. The ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999. He later settled in Appleton; the 109–0 streak remains the Neenah chapter, and the triple crown the rest.