Dave Weber, a Sioux Falls native and graduate of Augustana College, was state high school singles and doubles champ in 1958. He won nine South Dakota men’s singles titles, was named Tennis Athlete of the Decade for the 1960s and was state Independent Athlete of the Year in 1968.

He was ranked No. 1 in the Northwestern Section in men’s singles in 1969. Later, he took three state men’s singles titles in Nebraska, after moving to Omaha, where he has been a communications executive for the last 10 years.

Teaching tennis as a professional in Sioux Falls and Omaha from 1968 through 1983 killed his enthusiasm for competition in the sport. When he left for the business world, his spark was rekindled. "For years it was work," he said. "Now, I look forward to it, have fun with it."

Fun, with satisfying rewards.

Five times he has captured championships in national tournaments. Eight times he has been a runner-up. He was named Missouri Valley Tennis Association Player of the Year in 1991 when he won crowns in five different age divisions. That, coupled with national success, proved to Weber that "I can compete with my peer group any time. I just like to do it," he said.

He freely admits that it’s a confidence lifter, but that tennis also has become a vehicle that allows him to forget the workaday world for a moment.

Weber was ranked fifth in the nation in men’s 50-plus singles in 1990. That year in three national events, he reached the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

The team aspect of the sport returned, too. In 1991, he captained a Nebraska team of men that won the United States Tennis Association 5.0-level championship in Tucson, Ariz. The next year, he captained the same group as it spent 10 days in Japan giving exhibitions.

A three-term president of the Missouri Valley Professional Tennis Association, he also spent three terms on the national board of the United States Professional Tennis Association.

After a 10-year vacation "from organizational tennis activities," he is in his second year as chairman of the Omaha Tennis Association Junior Development Committee.