APPLETON, Wis. -- Kevin Girard is the new tennis coach at Lawrence University, Director of Athletics Robert Beeman announced Tuesday.
A native of Marquette, Mich., Girard takes over the both the men's and women's teams. He comes to Lawrence from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he has served as the assistant men's and women's tennis coach since September 2005.
"I am extremely excited to be part of the Lawrence family," Girard said. "I look forward to the challenge of building a successful tennis program."
While at Carnegie Mellon, Girard helped craft both the men's and women's teams
into some of the best squads in the nation. Both teams at Carnegie Mellon achieved
their highest finishes ever in the University Athletic Association in 2005,
and Girard was honored as part of the conference coaching staff of the year
in 2005-06. The Tartans have had eight All-Americans and 10 Intercollegiate
Tennis Association Scholar Athletes during Girard's tenure.
"We are very pleased to have Kevin join us at Lawrence as our first full-time tennis coach in more than a decade," Beeman said. "Kevin comes from a very successful program at Carnegie Mellon and is familiar with the inherent challenges of recruiting qualified student-athletes to a highly selective academic institution. We fully believe that he will raise our tennis program to a level of excellence that we both desire and expect."
A 2003 graduate of Michigan Technological University, Girard has a bachelor's
degree in biological sciences and he holds the highest possible certification
from the Professional Tennis Registry. A four-year letterwinner for the Huskies,
he is the school's career leader in doubles victories. As a prep player at Marquette
High School, he was a team captain and two-time Upper Peninsula state champion.
Girard takes over a women's team at Lawrence that placed fifth in the Midwest Conference in 2006. The Lawrence men were seventh in the league in 2007.