Ripon, Wis. - After retiring from teaching in 2005 and ending his tenure with the women's tennis team in 2002, Chuck Larson, head coach of men's tennis at Ripon College, has decided to hang up his tennis shoes for good, announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the 2006 season. "We are sad to see Chuck retire," said Ripon College Athletic Director Bob Gillespie, "but we are so grateful for all that he has given to our program." Senior Red Hawk Paul VandenBoogaard has been appointed the new head coach.

Larson earned a master's degree at Penn State University and a doctorate at Indiana University, both in health, physical education and recreation, before returning to his alma mater, Ripon College, in 1969. He performed a broad array of coaching duties, including stints as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for football and 20 years as swimming coach. In 1971 and 1972 the swim team won the conference championship. He has also served as chair of the physical education - now exercise science - department and was appointed athletic director in 1978, a position he held for 14 years. He was promoted to full professor in 1988.

Larson, however, will be long remembered as Ripon's most successful tennis coach - guiding the men's and women's teams to a combined 22 conference titles. Tennis, as anyone will tell you, is Larson's calling. As a student at Ripon, Larson was a three-time letter winner and a member of College's first championship team in 1964. He also won a conference singles title that year.

In 39 years of coaching tennis at Ripon College, Larson has compiled an impressive 537-194-1 dual meet record. He has led the men to 14 conference championships in the past 20 years and 17 in the last 26. After only two years of coaching the women, the squad earned a perfect 14-0 record in league play and the won the Midwest Conference Championship that season. The women won four conference championships during his 15-year tenure with the program.

He has been involved in every one of the men's league titles that the Red Hawks have captured, including one as a player and 18 as a coach. Larson has coached numerous qualifiers for the NCAA Division III National Championships including four All-Americans in the past 12 years. Sixteen of his players have gone on to the national tournament in the past 19 seasons.

"Coach Larson is the type of person that you want to work hard for, and he knows how to get the most out of an individual," said Paul VandenBoogaard, a senior from Oshkosh, Wis. VandenBoogaard said Larson teaches his athletes to be patient; using strategy rather than "flash" to win matches. "Coach Larson has not only been a great coach, but also a great mentor," he said. "He is someone that I look up to for tennis and for life."

In 1992, Larson's contributions to both the men's and women's tennis programs were recognized when he was honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), who named him Midwest Coach of the Year. Other recognitions include his 1990 induction into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame and in 1996 the tennis courts outside the Storzer Center were named in his honor. His commitment to the Ripon community through dedicated service as a member of the Ripon Rotary Club earned him the 2002 Paul Harris Fellowship Award.

He has been active in both the NCAA and ITA throughout his career and most recently completed a five-year term on the NCAA Division III national committee during which he was chair for three years. He has also served on the NCAA Central Region committee and the ITA Board of Directors.

Larson received his bachelor's degree in mathematics with a minor in physical education from Ripon College in 1965, his master's from Penn State University (1968), and his doctorate from Indiana University (1979). He and his wife, Karen, have three children, all graduates of Ripon; Sarah in 1995, Becky in 1997, and Charlie in 2000.

VandenBoogaard has been appointed the new head coach for the Ripon men's tennis program. He will graduate from the College in May with a degree in physical education. He is a four-year member of the Red Hawk varsity squad, compiling an overall record of 63-29 in singles and 78-25 in doubles. He has played at No. 1 singles and doubles for the last three seasons, winning a conference title in both.

VandenBoogaard graduated from Oshkosh North in 2002, where he was the state doubles champion as a senior. He has worked extensively at camps and clinics throughout the area. "I am very pleased Paul is joining our coaching staff," said Gillespie. "He has an excellent work ethic and he understands the quality of Ripon College tennis. He will be a good recruiter and knows the Midwest Conference."