After 36 years of coaching tennis including seven leading the Valparaiso University tennis program, Bob Modesto has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2026 spring season.
 
"I am forever a Valpo fan; I love Valpo," Modesto said. "This is a retirement; I'm not going anywhere else. I went to Purdue, my daughter went to Mizzou, my son-in-law went to Illinois, but there's no place like Valpo. I may be retiring from coaching, but I will continue to be Valpo's No. 1 fan."
 
Since he took over the program in July 2019, Modesto has elevated Valpo tennis to new heights.
 
"Bob Modesto has been an exemplary Valpo citizen throughout his time leading our tennis program," Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation Laurel Hosmer said. "I'm forever grateful for his service to our student-athletes and his deep love for our institution. Bob embodies the ethos of Valparaiso University in his commitment to build lives for good through the opportunities the tennis program affords and the many lives he's impacted for the better during his tenure here at Valpo. His infectious personality and positive demeanor have helped him uplift those around him and enhanced the experience for his student-athletes. I would like to thank Bob for his hard work and wish him well in his upcoming retirement."
 
Valpo Athletics will celebrate Modesto's retirement on Saturday, April 18 at the Beacon & Bell Cafe located at Harre Union. The celebration will take place following the team's home match against Drake. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be available.
 
"I want to express my appreciation for Laurel, who has been phenomenal in her position," Modesto said. "She's been a godsend for me and she has been responsible for some of the highlights of my life. [Sport administrator] Candy [Jessen] and all of the athletics staff have been nothing but supportive. I am also so thankful and have so much gratitude toward Mark LaBarbera, who hired me, and Charles Small, who was a terrific athletic director."
 
Bob The Builder
When Modesto took over leadership of the Valpo tennis program, he inherited a team that had won a total of 28 dual matches in the 12 seasons prior to his arrival, averaging 2.3 victories per season during that time and winning no more than five matches in a season in the previous 12 years.
 
Under his leadership, Modesto built the program into one that experienced success, winning 56 dual matches in his seven seasons including four seasons that featured at least 10 victories. Valpo has twice finished with 11 wins under Modesto, the team's highest total since 2006, and has 10 victories with four regular-season matches remaining this year.
 
With help from his tutelage, Valpo players won 30 Missouri Valley Conference weekly awards (17 Singles Players of the Week, 13 Doubles Teams of the Week). Valpo experienced four MVC individual championships during Modesto's time leading the program and had five all-conference honorees including the 2022 MVC Player of the Year.
 
Although Modesto inherited a program that had not experienced much recent success in terms of wins and losses, the cupboard was not bare. He inherited something that was arguably the most important component of the program's surge – the Czerwonka sisters. Claire Czerwonka (Stablein) was entering her junior year when Modesto replaced Tammy Cecchini as head coach, while her younger sister Olivia Czerwonka was entering her freshman season.
 
"I committed under Tammy, and Bob started my freshman year," Olivia said. "His daughter had played on the team, and Claire had a good friendship with Meg. I was walking in blind in a way. Once I came on campus, my family and I met with him at Founders. I was grateful to know that he was going to be my coach. It's tough going in as a freshman and you don't know what you're going to get. He was such a warm, welcoming person. Looking back seven years later, I didn't realize that Bob and I's relationship would bloom into what it did. Recently, I told Bob that if you're friends with someone for seven years, you'll be friends with them forever. I know our relationship will last a lifetime."
 
The Czerwonka sisters experienced a conference championship together, winning the 2021 Flight 1 Doubles crown at the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships, hosted on Valpo's home courts. That same day, Olivia captured the MVC Flight 2 Singles title. Moira Silva (2022, Flight 2 Singles) and the tandem of Sydney Stone and Lacey Tanner (2024, Flight 2 Doubles) would go on to win conference championships under Modesto as well.
 
With Modesto playing a key role, Valpo hosted the MVC Individual Championships in Fall 2021 and hosted the MVC Team Championship in Spring 2025. In addition, the Valpo Tennis Complex outdoor courts were resurfaced during his time leading the program, enhancing what he said are some of the best tennis facilities in The Valley.  
 
Another banner moment of Modesto's coaching career was helping Olivia win the 2022 MVC Player of the Year Award.
 
"Olivia winning the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award is not only a highlight of my time here, but it's a highlight of my life," Modesto said. "I knew about it beforehand, but we kept it from her. I shared it with her parents and we decided not to let her know until it occurred. When we knew ahead of time and we saw her reaction, it was a terrific day. The conference championships are also something I'll remember forever. Those are great days and you can look back on those tremendous moments and say, 'Life is good.'"
 
The program record book has received a workout during Modesto's time in charge of Valpo tennis, as four of the top 10 players in career singles victories have come during his tenure, and each of the top three players in career doubles wins achieved their place in the record book under Modesto. Current senior Moira Silva ranks third in program history with 63 career singles wins and is tied for third with 55 career doubles victories.
 
"I feel really lucky to have had Bob as my coach," Silva said. "He has not only been there for me on the court, but off the court as well. He is someone who will advocate for you in every aspect of your life. He's given me the opportunity to play at this school and helped develop my game and my success. He's allowed me to build relationships with other people he's recruited on the team and people from other sports. He pushes me to become better every single day and makes sure I'm working toward the right things."
 
Bob The Student
Modesto got the chance to experience Valpo in a whole new way when he made the decision to pursue his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the institution. Set to graduate this May, Modesto's experience in the classroom has made his appreciation for Valpo even stronger.
 
"Finishing the MBA program has been tremendous for me as a person, and also tremendous for me as a coach," Modesto said. "It's made me a better coach in that I can certainly appreciate how difficult it is to be a student-athlete today. It's a tremendous amount of work juggling between being a good student and a good athlete. It is more difficult than I could have imagined. I have such admiration for our players for that reason. For example, English is Andrea Delgado's second language, and she gets all A's and carries 18 credit hours while leaving her heart out on the court. She's an inspiration to me, and she's an inspiration to everyone around her. Those are the kinds of athletes we have at Valpo."
 
Already a popular figure in Valpo's athletic department, Modesto's pursuit of his MBA allowed him to forge new bonds across campus, including those with professors Tiffany Kolba, Jamie Stangel, Paul Rowe, David Rolling, Kirsten Bullock, Renee Liu, Alex Chen, Sedefka Beck, Elizabeth Gingerich and advisor Deb Singer.
 
"They are truly phenomenal," Modesto said. "A big part of what makes Valpo great is the professors. The professors here can be described in two words – They care. They care about their students, they care about the success of the students and they want everyone in the program to succeed. I would describe Valpo professors and staff in this way – when we go to the grocery store, we see four types of people. There are people who if you see them there, you will go back another day. There are people who if you see them, you will go in, but you go by the fruit if they're by the bread. There are people who if you see them, you'll try to find them in the store. And then there are people from Valpo, where if you see them, you will pay for their groceries."
 
Stangel fondly recalls her interactions teaching Modesto in master's level sport law.
 
"Before the class started, Bob came into my office, and we looked over the textbook and talked about what the case briefs look like," Stangel said. "He had so many questions because he wanted to do everything the right way. How long should papers be? What's the format? You could tell he was nervous because he hadn't been to school in a while. He was so eager to know what we were going to talk about and make sure he did things the right way. Before both of our exams, he came into my office and talked to me about what he should study, which is atypical for master's students, and you could tell he was really interested in learning. Everybody gets their graduate degrees for different reasons. It was so refreshing to see someone who was learning for the sake of learning, not really for the sake of a grade or not even necessarily for the degree. He was just different from most of the students that we see in such a good way."
 
It comes as perhaps no surprise that Modesto was studious in the classroom, as he led a team that won the Valparaiso University Team Academic Award in three straight years in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Six of his athletes have earned MVC Scholar-Athlete honors, including 2022 MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Claire Czerwonka.
 
"Since Bob went back for his MBA, I've heard multiple times from athletes on other teams, other coaches and his professors that Bob is an amazing person," Silva said. "It's funny that there are more athletes from other sports who know Bob than athletes who know specific people on the team personally. It's really valuable and unique."
 
Bob The Person
Modesto is certainly a coach, but he isn't Coach Modesto.
 
"He doesn't want to be a scary person, so he said, 'You guys can just call me Bob. That's it,'" Silva said. "There's just so much to Bob. One of his most admirable characteristics is that every single person that he meets gets along with him."
 
While Modesto emphasizes the importance of working hard and competing with heart, he also stresses the importance of having fun. When Valpo tennis traveled on the road, the student-athletes and coaches created memories that will last a lifetime.
 
"We've shared so many experiences together – my favorite was when he kissed a camel on a safari ride in Missouri," Olivia said.
 
"My freshman year, we went through a drive thru zoo kind of thing and he kissed a camel while feeding them," Silva said.

"I did kiss a camel; I know the team enjoyed that," Modesto said.


 
Claire played on the team for five seasons, including three with Bob as the head coach, and then remained part of the program as a graduate assistant coach for two more seasons. She completed her bachelor of science in nursing in four years and used the next three years to complete her doctorate of nursing practice (DNP). Olivia followed in Claire's footsteps, playing on the team for five seasons – all under Modesto – before two years as a graduate assistant coach. Olivia followed the same academic path, as she earned her bachelor's degree in nursing and is currently on the verge of finishing out her DNP. Claire is currently a nurse practitioner at Froedtert in her home state of Wisconsin.
 
"Bob made my college experience," Claire said. "He cares for everyone on and off the court. I got to know him not only as a coach, but as a co-worker. He puts a lot of thought and care into it. He is just a great person. For me and Olivia, he feels like a second dad in a way or a really good friend. We spent so much time with him. I've known him for nine years. I'm really happy with how my college experience went at Valpo, and a lot of that was because of him."
 
Claire married former Valpo football player Trey Stablein in October 2024, and Olivia is engaged to be married to former Valpo football player Austin Chilton in November 2026.
 
"Last year, I went to Claire's wedding, and those are the kinds of things you do because you have relationships with your players," Modesto said. "Those relationships are why we do what we do. We do what we do because we feel like we make a difference. I hope I can confidently say I've made a difference in the lives of our players. One of the greatest compliments that I have received in my coaching tenure is that Paul Oren asked Olivia 'In this era of players entering the portal and you being a good enough player to play at Power 4, why did you stay?' and Olivia said because of Bob. I left that day thinking, 'I did the right thing coaching here.'"
 
What's Next?
For Modesto, this wraps up a professional career that has included time as a high school English teacher, a Dean of Students, military experience (enlisted and as an officer), managing and building hotels and coaching at the Division-I level.
 
"In the five careers I've had, I've said multiple times that by far the highlight of those was coaching at Valparaiso University," Modesto said. "There has been nothing more fulfilling in my life. Those other areas were fulfilling and were tremendous experiences, but coaching at Valparaiso University will go down as the highlight."
 
Modesto began teaching tennis in 1993 as a pro at Match Point Tennis Club in Griffith, where he was the Director of Tennis. He led the Homewood-Flossmoor High School boys team to seven consecutive state appearances and the girls team at Munster High School to five straight trips to the Indiana State Finals during his stint leading the Mustangs from 2004-2009.
 
All three of Modesto's daughters played tennis at the Division-I level – Maureen (Missouri), Bobbi (IUPUI) and Meg (Valpo).
 
Modesto's passion for tennis was exemplified in 2018, when he received significant media attention for playing at least 90 minutes of tennis every day for 365 days.
 
"What will I do?" Modesto said. "Maybe I'll go back to playing tennis every day for 365 days. I have not played tennis much as a coach. The focus isn't on my game; the focus is on their game. Consulting is always an option. I've learned a tremendous amount in each of the diversified careers that I've had, and I feel like I have a lot to offer, particularly from what I've learned at Valpo. I've learned things that you cannot know unless you were able to coach at the Division-I level and return to a program like the MBA program at Valpo. It's been a tremendous, tremendous journey."