1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - Nebraska Women's Tennis season so far and what's ahead: February 26th, 2026, 11:25am

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

Cornhuskers' tennis season so far and what is next. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Back to one-on-one with D.P. Sponsored by the Downtown Lincoln Foundation on 93-7 The Ticket. Welcome back to one-on-one here on 93-7, The Ticket. DP out of town today, he'll be back by Monday. That is, if jury-duty doesn't get in the way, he's not necessarily looking forward to that. But it's calling. So we'll see what happens there next week. Of course, we've got girls basketball started next week as,

well. So stay tuned for that. It's going to be a busy couple weeks here on 93-7. The dig it. But right now is one-on-one with Nebraska women's tennis coach Hermann Del Mager. We're talking a lot in the first segment about kind of scheduling and where the team is as of now. We're mentioning Nebraska now getting into conference play in women's tennis a little over four weeks from now next Friday against, against Illinois. But I was asking too, because I I know he's got a little bit of a history, Hermann does, with Kansas in Illinois, and he was able to schedule Kansas at Kansas this past year. Do those old connections still hold true with KU?

Is that part of the reason that was the scheduled? Or is that kind of coincidence? No, I mean, a little bit of both. I think they're close by and they're a really good team. And obviously, I worked there for, you know, close to seven years as an assistant coach. So it's good to get back out there. And as I was there for a short, you know, we were there for maybe, just over 24 hours. So we weren't there long.

But during that time, you know, I had some, you know, all friends come and say hi. And, you know, and I texted a few of them, you know, I'm kind of like tried to see them, build some connections that kind of stay through, you know, through the year. So it's good. It's good to see, you know, like, you still want to go there and beat him, you know. So it's not a doesn't change that. But it's good. It's good to, you know, to kind of go to you all stomping grounds and and see some old friends and new faces that, you know, you don't know, but, I think it's good. You know, you kind of still hold a little bit of a, you know, small piece of your heart.

You know, some places that you work and they treat you well. I think it's like, you know, Kansas was really good to me. That's actually what I met my wife. And, you know, and so it was a great place, you know, so it's nothing but good memories there. So, yeah, and Illinois, the same, you know, I work there and now we're competing against each other, but he's a good friend of mine and, you know, the same. We want to beat each other when we play, but, you know, one's the same. We want to beat each other when we play, but, you know, once we don't play each other, we're good friends and we talk often and the same. You know, I have good memories there and, you know, he's doing a good job with really good teams, you know, the last quite a few years, you know, when I was there too. So it's good.

So it'll be a tough match, but I look forward to the battles. Yeah, yeah. I think that's cool. I mean, there's always a little bit something extra when you're going against those. Yeah, absolutely. It's one of one of those that you're, you know, you want to beat him just because we're competitive, you know, but at the same time, you know, whoever wins, you know, you're kind of happy for the other person as well, you know.

So, yeah, it's good, but it's also good to be competitive, you know. So it's good, yeah. Well, while we're on it, I do, I do want to just kind of let people know how you did get here. I know you played at West Florida. And I was going to ask, too, why I was going on? This got some questions along the way. How many tennis players, because we have this in football, too, and there's always these debates talking heads about, well,

if you didn't play football, you can't... How many coaches, or is it all of them, that played basically college... I mean, I would say it's probably in the 90% of all. Yeah. I would say that play college tennis that are coaching. There's a few that don't play or didn't play as much, and then they're coaching.

But I would say it's a very minority. Yeah, I would say most of them have to play in some capacity. Yeah, that's probably true in all sports, but I just wondered if it was any... Yeah, I feel like in some, you know, in some basketball, some football, They tend to be more like, you know, they come in, as GAs, the Nattelis, you know,

and kind of, they're a little more study, you know, like all of that, right? And, but in tennis, it happens, but not as often. Yeah, it's a couple. But most of them, I would say, have, like, college tennis, yeah. And, I mean, for obvious reasons, it helps when you can kind of point out in specific things about having been out there on the court. It's like to be out there and just kind of playing

and knowing kind of a little bit of what it takes and kind of what you go through. And, you know, like, if you have the experience of, you know, college and wins and losses and, you know, the work, the practice, the schedule, the, you know, just what, you know, I mean, I still play too. So it's like when I play my players, I kind of understand a little bit, you know, their perspective a little more too, you know, so it's definitely more helpful, yeah. Do you, do you, do you get to go out there and play against your players? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like to play. Yeah. Especially the individuals I like to hit,

you know, I kind of put a little more of my assistant. But then lately, I, I need to get back out there more, you know, I like to play. So, yeah, no, I still play with them and, you know, tried to get after. Can you, do you learn anything or do you learn more by playing with them or is it pretty, is it better from the siding? I mean, I think it's a little bit of both. Sometimes, you know, when you're watching, you tend to, you know, pick a little more small details.

But when you play and then just hit back and forward, you know, I have an individual this morning. So I was hitting with her. You can kind of feel the way she hits the ball. I can tell, like, you know, well, that ball is like, it looks good, but it's not hurting me. You know, it's not putting as much pressure on me. saw, you know, work on this and that. So we kind of talk about a little more of like, if I'm hitting, you can, you can tell a little more, you know, how they hit the ball and things that you're asking them to do.

You know, if they executed, then you can tell more. But you can also tell from the sidelines as well. So let's do, let's get into how you got here. What were your playing days there? Was it at West Florida, right? I played with, so first I started at a junior college in Georgia. Okay. And then I went West Florida.

I was, back then, the rules were a little more strict. And then I was ineligible, basically, for D1 at the time, because I took a little money playing pro tennis. Okay. So at that time, you know, if you took any money, you were basically ineligible. Or you could, you know, have to sit a year and lose a year. It was one of those things. And now it's pretty much a pretty for all, you know? So it wasn't like that when I play.

So I had to go first the junior college route because the same. You know, I came in college when I was like 20 years old and took some time. off after high school. So one of my options was that. But I had a great time. United College was really good to me. He has some great friends. You know, we were likely enough to do really well. I did pretty well there. And then I transferred to West Florida. And then same, you know, at that time, you know, they just came off losing the semifinals of Ensignal of Lé Division 2. And then when I go there, I play two years. We won nationals, both years that I play. So it was a really good, really good experience. You know, I still have friends from there.

20 years ago, you know? So, and then I, I kind of didn't really think about, you know, coaching in college. I was thinking, I was going to go. I started business management. I was like, I'm just going to go work for some company. My dad is a tennis coach. So he's always had a tennis academy and high performance academies growing up. So always been around this. I was like, I mean, I can always do that, you know, after I work. But then I, my coach asked me to coach with him the year after I graduated for one year. And then I coached guys and I help with the girls too. So both, and I was like, I kind of like that. And I was like, I like giving back coaching and kind of like giving your perspective as a player

and see if they can, you know, get better. And I've always been involved in the player development and I really enjoyed that part. So I was like, I kind of like this, you know. So I decided to give it a try. And then my first job was KU. And then I loved it. And I think it's kind of like it felt kind of like in coaching women. It kind of felt in it.

It kind of like I was looking for both. And my coach at that time knew another. the coach that knew the Kansas coach and that connection got me that interview and then they offered me the job and then I started working with with the girls there and they seem to be like my patience kind of like my connection the way I communicated all that I seemed to work really well and then I kind of stuck with it and I work at Kansas and then I came here as an assistant coach and then I went to Illinois and now back here so it's kind of one of those that I just kind of you know I stay with it and here I am you know about the 18th.

years later, almost, you know, who knows? Yeah, it's awesome. I always interested in how you kind of get to the position that you are and, like you said, pretty well traveled as far as taking some different jobs, not necessarily jumping jobs, because like you said, you were there for several years and a lot of these, but getting opportunities and moving on and upward.

Kind of interesting there, as you said, was there ever a time when you decided I want to coach women's tennis as opposed to men's or just kind of fell that way? It kind of felt that way. I always felt like I would gravitate more towards the guy because I'm a guy and I coach it and I play so I can't understand that more but the more you the more I was coaching the girls at that time

you know I always felt like I wanted to do the best I could and whatever I was doing you know if I was there I was like I want to help this team the best way I can't whether it's developing I used to hit a lot then I used to play a lot so they were like the girls really like that so like so it was like I connected really well with that. And then it was always just like whatever I was doing is like I want to just try to be the best I can be help the best way I can. You know? And then it kind of one of those things that I had opportunities to go back to coaching guys. But it was always one of those. You're like, well, I want to

see how well we can do here. And then it's like and then once I started staying long enough, kind of on the women's side, it's almost one of those like, well, if I go to the guys now, it's kind of like, well, should I start over or no? Will it be like, you know, I was looking to be a head coach. It was like, you know, it's kind of one of those that, well, if I go back in coaching guys, well, how long would it be until I'll become a head coach? And then kind of one of those things, like if you have in the right teams or right people around you, I just don't think it matters too much. If you coach, you know, men or women, I think it's, you know, works hard or just as hard, you know, they're respectful, they're coachable, you know, they're, you know, they're competitive

just as much, you know, just have to make sure you have the, the right environment, you know, surround yourself with the right people. And I think, you know, Now, obviously I've been coaching Wemme for long enough, you know, that it's all about just having the right people in your team and I think you can push them just as hard. I think sometimes you just have to communicate a little differently. Choose our words a little more carefully and, you know, but we push them just as hard. We, you know, our standards are just as high and just as good. We're competitive.

The girls are competitive. They work hard. you know, they're, so as long as you keep having the right, right people in your place, you know, I think it doesn't matter where you coach. Yeah, yeah. It's just always great to get the coaching story and find out how we arrive to where you are. As Nebraska women's tennis coach now, let's go ahead and take another break. We've got one more segment with Hermann de Amagro coming up next year on 937 the ticket.

Watch live on Facebook, YouTube or Twitch. You're listening to one-on-one with DP on 937 the tickets and the ticket FM. Yeah.