It was an emotional day for Raider athletics during the Shippensburg University versus Messiah women’s tennis match Wednesday. Players and spectators suited up in all pink to show support for head coach Sheila Bush as she coached her final game before beginning cancer treatment. 

Players showed their support with pink visors, socks and ribbons in their hair and were high-fiving each other and dancing to the hype music while warming up. Even Messiah players decorated their visors and uniforms with pink ribbons and wrapped the sticks of their rackets in bright pink tape. 

After the match had been postponed twice, the team seemed energized by the sunshine and breeze on the court. The Raiders delivered powerful serves and put their all onto the court, edging out Messiah and winning 4-3. 

“She’s always been a fighter,” sophomore Corinne Markovich said of Bush. “We’ve had a lot of bumps in the road, even last year with having only six girls on the team. Now, especially, she’ll fight even harder.” 

Though Bush began coaching women’s tennis for Shippensburg in August 2022, she arrived at Shippensburg after serving an 11-year tenure at Messiah University as the head of women’s and men’s tennis from 2000-2011.

Bush coached 11 players to a total of 18 All-Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) classifications (11 First Team, seven Second Team), including two-time MAC Player of the Year Jansen Hein (2009, 2010) and 2007 MAC Player of the Year and 2004 MAC Rookie of the Year Jon Stanley. Bush is also a four-time MAC Coach of the Year, earning the honor three times as a men’s coach (2004, 2006, 2007) and once as a women’s coach (2003).

“She’s calm when she needs to be, but when we’re playing on the court, she’s always the one cheering us on,” senior Brighid Cantwell said. “I always enjoy the fun little things she says. There’s never a dull moment with coach.” 

Even when Bush has gone through difficult times, she always tries to bring positive energy into practices.

“She made practices enjoyable, even on days when I didn’t really feel like playing tennis that day,” Markovich said. “She was always happy and cracking jokes here and there. If you ask anyone on the team, they’ll always have good memories and jokes with her.”

The team sees itself as a family, so the players are ready to be there for Bush as she begins her treatment.

“I feel like one of the first things she thought about after receiving the news was, ‘how do I tell my girls?’” Markovich said. “I like to think of us as one big family, so if anything happens, big or small, we’re always there to support one another. Coach always tells us ‘it’s just another thing to overcome as a team.’ And today, especially, we’re going to try to pull out a win for coach,” Markovich said with a smile. 

“I feel like Coach has brought us a lot closer than in years past,” Cantwell said. “She did a great job of making sure that we stuck together, and now I feel that my bond with the team is stronger than ever.”  

Upon being asked how it felt to coach her rival team,  Bush began to beam. “[Messiah’s] coach was my assistant, so he’s my buddy,” Bush said. “I feel like it’s a friendly match. If he wins, I’m happy for him. No one can lose today.” 

Messiah head coach Jon Arosell began coaching with Bush back in 2009, and he reflected on their relationship nearly 15 years later.

“She was instrumental in helping me with coaching because I was a high school coach before that,” Arosell said. “We had two good years where she got to show me the ropes of what college tennis is all about. She’s just a real inspirational person, a real good Christian, and she showed me how tennis should be played. I was grateful for the opportunity to coach with her.”

Bush began to get emotional when reflecting on her favorite memories coaching for Shippensburg women’s tennis. 

“When we travel, there’s so much fun on the bus. They sing, they crack jokes, they’re a very fun group,” Bush said. “Each girl does something special. Each one of them brings something to the team because they’re all so unique. They have such team unity. How they support each other — that’s my fondest memory.”

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