As an Indiana native growing up in Greenwood, IUPUI felt like the perfect place for
David Beasley to take his tennis career to the collegiate level. IUPUI gave him the best of both worlds with a chance to grow academically while playing a sport that he loved.
In his 2014-15 season as a freshman, he was awarded the Summit League Newcomer of the Year and All-Summit League selected.
In his 2015-16 season as a sophomore, he had an overall singles record of 14-20. He also went 2-3 in conference singles play and finished with a doubles record of 12-16 where he was primarily partnered with Akshay Verma. Beasley and Verma had a doubles record of 11-9, which was the highest doubles record on the team.
In his 2016-17 season as a junior, he was named a 2017 All-Summit League selection for the second time in his career. He had the best overall showing for his team with 15-12 singles and went 13-11 in dual meet action. He was 2-2 in league play and picked up a win against a regionally ranked opponent in the fall at the ITA Tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee. He went 1-1 at the No.2, 5-3 at the No. 3, and 7-7 at the No. 4. He was also 12-11 in dual doubles and 2-1 against league foes. Additionally, he went 3-4 at the No. 1 and 9-7 at the No. 2.
In his 2017-18 season as a senior, he was named to the All-Horizon League team and finished the season with a team-best 5-2 Horizon League record. He became IUPUI's all-time wins leader in singles matches and finished his career with 56 singles wins. He had a 10-10 record in singles play and a 7-3 record at the No.1 spot. He tied for the team lead with eight doubles wins and went 6-4 at the No. 3 spot going 5-3 with teammate Grant Esposito. He won five-straight singles matches and finished the season winning six of his last seven singles matches, which were all at No.1.
In addition to his accomplishments on the tennis courts, he paved a path for himself on the academic side of things as well. In the 2015-16 and 2016-15 seasons, he was selected to The Summit League's Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence. In the 2015-16 season, he was named a Summit League Winter/Spring Academic Distinguished Scholar. In his 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, he was named to the IUPUI's Academic Advisor's List for both semesters.
Because of Beasley's tremendous work ethic on the courts and in the classroom, he is now being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
When was the first time that you could remember loving tennis?
I started playing around the age of 12, which was a late start for a tennis player. I played catch up in the beginning of my career, which made me get addicted to the sport. That caused some burnout after injuries, but college reignited my love for the game. I remember thinking that I could help pay my way through college, but also play the sport that I loved. There was not a definitive moment because it felt like a progression of loving the game. A sport that I have worked at and done well at allowed me to get a scholarship to play it in college.
What was your proudest moment during your time at IUPUI?
When I was a junior and senior in high school, I was injured numerous times. I was injured to the point where I just didn't play my last two seasons of high school, which is big right when you're about to go to college. I knew Brandon, so I called him up to see if there were any openings on his team. I asked him if I could try out and I ended up walking on the team mid-January, which was mid-season. I was able to get Freshman of the Year in The Summit League, which was a huge accomplishment considering when I came onto the team. I didn't pick up a tennis racket for two years, walked on a team, and then was able to achieve that was an incredible feat.
What are the moments/people/movements that defined your time at IUPUI?
Brandon Currie was an influential part of my time at IUPUI. Bren Vasalakis, who is now the head coach, was my assistant coach when I played tennis. I loved our coaching staff, and I took a tremendous amount from them. I am now the coach for Center Grove High School, and it is interesting being on the other side of playing after all these years. Sometimes I wish I could go out there and play myself, but then I have to remember that I can't anymore. I learned many coaching techniques and strategies from my coaches at IUPUI as well as from being a player. I took a break from tennis after college, became the assistant coach at the high school, and now I am leading a group of guys in a sport that they love. To be able to give back to these guys and be an influential person, hopefully, in their lives like my coaches were in mine is a tremendous gift. It's completely different than trying to play the sport.
What is your favorite memory with the team?
Freshmen year, we had great seniors on the team. When you're a freshman, the seniors seem like older adults until you become those adults in a blink of an eye. College goes by way too fast. We had some fun road trips as a team. I believe we were driving to Iowa in a van, which is a long hike, and we also went to Hilton Head as a team. Traveling was the most enjoyable because I got to hang out with my friends, see new places, and play my sport. College is the place that you travel like that unless you're playing pro.
How has your time at IUPUI prepared you for your job?
I majored in Criminal Justice. I had a lot of good internships set up through school and helpful connections, so that is what allowed me to join law enforcement on the local side. My program directly ties into what I do for a living now, which allowed me to be prepared looking back on that transition from college to working as an adult. One of my internships was with the Airport Police Department, which I found through IUPUI's Law Enforcement Day. I now work for the Center Grove School District, which is different in a sense that I work with kids, and it is something that I have learned to love.
What advice would you give a younger version of yourself?
I think that it's easy to have stuff planned out. You could have where you want to go in life and for me, I've hit it on the head. Almost to a tee. However, I do not think it's that way for everyone. I try and tell the kids to figure out what they like and shoot for it but have some realistic goals and paths as well. I tell them that if something else happens, then that's okay because another opportunity presented itself. They could've found an interest that they didn't even know they had. If I was talking to myself specifically, I would tell myself to go through some sort of programming for technology. Right now, I am in charge of our body cams at school, and I love the technology programming aspect of that. Doing that as a major or minor would have served me well.
What are you proud to have accomplished since graduating?
My proudest moment since graduating is coaching. To get back to the sport that has poured so much into me and pour that back into other people has been a blessing. We got to the State Final's last year so that is cool to see achievement, but it is more important to see growth in the kids. The growth in the kids means more than any medals.
What do you want people to know about you?
I am happily married with two beautiful little girls. I'm very proud of them and the life we all have together. That is the biggest thing that I want people to know because they're the best thing I could ask for.
