BY DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY
What do you dream of? A new car? A bigger house? A grand vacation?
Beth (Schleisman) Montalvo dreamed of competing in the Olympics. She represented Team USA during the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, as her parents, Larry and Violet Schleisman of Lake City, cheered her on from the stands.
As a non-athlete, I’m intrigued to learn how world-class champions like Beth think. She introduced me to a quote from Billie Jean King, one of the greatest tennis players of all time: “Pressure is a privilege.”
Beth knows a lot about pressure. Her ability to harness this intensity is a big reason why the United States Tennis Association Hawaii Pacific Section’s Hall of Fame presented Beth (a long-time Maui resident) with the Outstanding Player Award in November 2025.
“I felt alive again”
Long before this prestigious award, Beth was a farm girl from west-central Iowa who enjoyed cheerleading, track and water skiing. She spent her summers working as a lifeguard at the Lake City swimming pool. She also worked part-time as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at the local care center.
“I learned a strong work ethic, dedication and honoring your word,” said Beth, whose father would take her to work on a snowmobile if a winter storm blocked the roads.
After graduating from Iowa State University, Beth became a math teacher. Then came March 30, 1991.
Beth, her boyfriend and other friends were riding four-wheelers in the sand dunes near Las Vegas. Something went horribly wrong, and Beth’s four-wheeler pitched forward. “I hung on and felt my back snap,” she recalled.
Beth, 25, spent nearly five years trying to re-learn how to walk. While she eventually realized she could get around quicker in a wheelchair, she had no interest in wheelchair sports. “In my mind, playing wheelchair sports was admitting that I was going to stay in a wheelchair the rest of my life,” she said.
That changed when another “wheelie,” named Billie Eddins, came to the Las Vegas school where Beth worked, teaching adaptive physical education. He convinced Beth to try wheelchair tennis. “I fell in love with the freedom of moving around on the court,” she said. “I felt alive again.”
The player who serves well seldom loses
While the birth of Beth’s son, Jacques, in December 1996 put tennis on hold, the U.S. Open in the late 1990s rekindled her interest. By 2000, she was touring full-time, competing in tennis tournaments across the U.S. and around the globe, from Australia, Asia and South Africa to Europe and South America.
Along the way, she learned a lot about life. “The better physical shape I’m in, the better I feel about myself. The better I feel about myself, the more I can give to others,” she said.
Giving guides Beth’s life since she retired from competitive tennis in 2008. She’s grateful her trainer, Scott Sanchez, shared the gospel with her. “Romans 8:28 was life changing,” she said, referring to “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
When massive wildfires devastated Maui in 2023, Beth helped organize relief efforts. She’s active in her non-denominational church and participated in a church mission trip to Egypt in 2025. She also hosts weekly Bible studies in her home and facilitates Financial Peace University, a biblically based course that teaches money management. In her free time, she enjoys Hawaiian canoe outrigger paddling.
No matter what challenges come her way, Beth is living proof that pressure is a privilege – and champions adapt. “If there’s a will, there’s a way,” she said. “Figure it out, make it happen.”
Darcy Dougherty Maulsby lives near her family’s Century Farm northwest of Lake City. Visit her at www.darcymaulsby.com.
