SEGUIN, Texas – Michael Hunt will be the new head coach for women’s and men’s tennis at Texas Lutheran University.
Hunt, a native of Lake Jackson, Texas and the former head women’s tennis coach at Sam Houston State University, is the current tennis coach for women’s and men’s tennis at Western Illinois University, an NCAA Division I university in Macomb, Ill.
Hunt officially takes over the TLU tennis program on June 1.
TLU’s current head tennis coach for men and women, Bill Lehman, has announced his retirement from coaching. Lehman is completing his ninth season with the Bulldogs.
"I am very excited to be coming to Texas Lutheran,” Hunt said. “This is an opportunity for me to come home to Texas and coach at a place that I have long admired and that is very special to me. I am grateful to President Svennungsen, (Senior Vice President) Steve Anderson, and (Director of Athletics) Bill Miller for the opportunity to help build this program into one that is competing for ASC Championships on an annual basis.”
“I'd also like to congratulate Coach Lehman on his retirement and thank him for his dedicated service to TLU and the tennis program. I have big shoes to fill and will work hard to do so."
In addition to his tennis coaching experiences at Western Illinois (2005-2010) and at Sam Houston State (2001-02), Hunt served as the head women’s and men’s tennis coach at Eastern Illinois University (1999-2001) and as the assistant men’s tennis coach at Illinois State University (1997-99), where he received his master’s degree in sports management in 1999.
Hunt earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas A&M University in 1990. He is currently pursuing his doctorate (in absentia) in recreation, parks, and tourism sciences at Texas A&M.
Hunt has over 12 seasons of collegiate coaching experience. Ten of those years of experience have come at the NCAA Division I level. He has coached 19 all-conference student-athletes, 47 Academic All-Conference student-athletes, 11 ITA Scholar-Athletes, and two ITA Scholar-Athlete Teams.
TLU is an exclusively undergraduate university of the liberal arts, sciences and professional studies. The Bulldogs play in the American Southwest Conference and are members of the NCAA Division III.
In the 2005-06 men’s tennis season, Hunt led Western Illinois to its first conference championship and to an NCAA Division I Championships appearance. Western Illinois competed in the Louisville Region and lost to No. 7 Illinois in the first round.
For his success that season, Hunt was named the Mid-Continent Coach of the Year and the Western Illinois University Coach of the Year (as selected by the Western Courier).
In 2008-09, Hunt was again named a conference coach of the year in men’s tennis. This time the honor came in the Summit League. In that season, Hunt led the women’s tennis program to its highest regular-season finish in six seasons and to a third-straight conference tournament appearance. He also guided the men’s tennis team to a fourth-straight 10-win season.
Hunt guided the 2007-08 Western Illinois men’s team to its first-ever regular season conference title and to another 14-win season, which included wins over Missouri Valley Conference members Bradley and Creighton. The men’s tennis team reached the conference tournament championship match for a third straight season (falling 4-3), and the women’s team posted a second-straight season of double-digit wins and a second-consecutive conference tournament semifinal appearance.
Hunt’s women’s team won the Fall 2007 Highest GPA Team Award and the ITA Scholar-Athlete Team Award, and seven individuals in the 2007-08 season were named ITA Scholar-Athletes.
In 2006-07, Western Illinois won 15 regular-season matches and finished second in both the regular season and the conference tournament. Hunt coached the Mid-Continent Player of the Year and two First Team All-Conference selections. In addition, the women’s team posted its first winning season since 2001.
Hunt helped turn around the Sam Houston State women’s tennis team, taking that program to a seven-win improvement (from four wins prior to his arrival to 11 wins in his first year as head coach).
In 2000-01, Hunt led Eastern Illinois to winning seasons in women’s and men’s tennis and to their highest finishes (at the time) in the Ohio Valley Conference. The women improved from three wins in 1999-00 to 14 wins in 2000-01. The men went from six wins in 1999-000 to 13 in 2000-01. Two players were named All-OVC, and eight players appeared on the OVC Academic All-Conference teams.
In 1999-00, Wright coached Rachel Wright, who was named the OVC Scholar-Athlete (the conference’s highest student-athlete academic honor) and was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete.
Prior to serving as an assistant men’s tennis coach at Illinois State (1997-99), Hunt was the head boys’ tennis coach at Champaign Central High School (1996-97), the assistant girls’ tennis coach at Danville High School (1995-96), and the assistant men’s tennis coach at Parkland College (1994-96). Hunt and Parkland College won a regional championship, advanced to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament twice, and posted two Top-25 finishes.
Hunt currently is the President of the Middle Illinois Tennis Association and sits on the Collegiate Committee of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Midwest Section. Hunt also previously served on the national Board of Trustees for the National Recreation and Parks Association.
Hunt has served as an assistant coach at the MIL/SIL Competition Training Center in Decatur, Ill., for two years and coached at the 2007 USTA 16-and-under Zonal Championships in St. Louis. He led the Midwest Section girls team to the Zonal Championship.
Hunt also has published numerous articles pertaining to the economic impacts of sports tourism in specific communities.