Minnesota and Illinois in women’s tennis have met 32 times since 1991. However, the 33rd meeting on April 11 was the first time ever that both schools’ squads were coached by Black women.
Lois Arterberry (Minnesota) and Gabrielle Moore (Indiana) once were college teammates at Southern University, an HBCU. “I was a junior when she came in,” said Arterberry of Moore. “So we had the opportunity of playing two years together and winning two championships.”
The Gophers-Hoosiers match at the Baseline Tennis Center also was the first time the two Southern alums coached against each other.
“It’s a historical moment,” stressed Moore as the two coaches talked to the MSR afterwards. “Especially not just two teams but two Black coaches that also played together and competed together to be here.”
When Arterberry got the Jackson State head coaching job, she sought out Moore to join her on the staff. A season later, Moore succeeded her as she left for another HC job.
“I needed an assistant, and for me [Moore] was the perfect person to call,” recalled the Gophers’ second-year coach. “We work together. It was good for me to just be able to help her to get to the Division I level, and like she said, pull each other along as we go.”
“It’s good that we can have that representation,” continued Arterberry, who as well as at Jackson State (both men’s and women’s) also coached at Eastern Illinois and St. Thomas before being hired at Minnesota in 2023.
Now in her first season at Indiana, Moore also did double duty at Jackson State coaching both men and women, then only the women’s team at McNeese State before being hired by the Hoosiers for this season.
Not only are Arterberry and Moore the Big Ten’s only Black women tennis head coaches, but also the only Black coaches of any sport at their respective schools. The two are among nearly 15 total Black female head coaches in all three NCAA divisions, not counting Black schools.
“It’s very important,” said Moore. “I think it gives other Black coaches a vision of [how]this is where they could be. We’ve worked our way from the ground up to be here.”
The host school, Minnesota, secured the doubles point for only the second time this season in Big Ten play and defeated visiting Indiana 4-1.
“This match for us was not only important obviously within our conference, but I think it was an important match for us as coaches, always rooting for each other,” said Moore. “We knew it was going to be a battle, but I think that the togetherness of seeing Black women leading in this sport is a huge, huge thing for us.”
Arterberry added that seeing her and Moore on the sidelines hopefully will encourage young Black tennis players, especially in college, and show that it is possible “to choose coaching as a path that they can make as a career. It’s something that when they’re playing, most times they’re not thinking about [coaching] until later on when they’re getting to their senior year and they’re not willing to give [tennis] up after they graduate.
“That’s how it started for me,” she admitted, “and it’s just good to have that representation for both men and women because both Gabby and I, we did both.”
“I’m just super excited and grateful to be here,” said Moore, “and grateful to be in the Big Ten and do this alongside a teammate, a friend, and someone I call family. Just very proud of our conference for having a very big diversity inclusion piece in our sport and in other sports, but also just to be leading in this sport as a Black woman.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.