WICHITA, Kan. –
Colin Foster, former assistant women’s tennis coach at TCU, has been
named the seventh head women's tennis coach at Wichita State, Director
of Athletics Eric Sexton announced on Wednesday.
"Colin communicated a vision of excellence that builds upon the
foundation and direction of our women's tennis program," Sexton said.
"The future of the program is very bright. With Colin's strong
recruiting presence and cutting edge player development skills, we have
put together a winning combination that can take this program to new
levels."
In his three seasons with the Horned Frogs, Foster helped create a
Mountain West Conference power. He helped guide TCU to the NCAA
Tournament in each of his three seasons in Fort Worth, sending players
to the NCAA Individual Championships each year as well.
Foster has mentored three All-Americans as an assistant, and was
twice voted the ITA Southwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year in
2008 and 2009. The Horned Frogs won a pair of regular season
championships during his time there, including the 2009 Mountain West
Conference Tournament title.
“I’m thrilled and so grateful for the opportunity to join the Wichita
State staff,” Foster said. “I’m looking forward to meeting all the
players and getting started.”
Before launching his coaching career, Foster enjoyed a highly
successful playing career at Purdue. He spent the majority of his
senior year competing in the No. 1 position and finished his career as
the team’s Most Valuable Player. The Western Springs, Ill., native was
also successful in the classroom, being named to the Academic All-Big
Ten Team every year.
Foster takes over a Shocker program that was ranked as high as 33rd
nationally last season, and begins the 2009-10 season as the defending
Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament champions
along with NCAA Tournament appearances in three of the last four
seasons.
“Chris Young did an incredible job during his time at WSU," Foster
said. “I’m excited about our program's recent success on both the
conference and national levels. I’m excited to continue that direction
and the opportunity to make an even bigger splash on the national
scene.”
The announcement also brings changes to the men's side of the Shocker
tennis program. Head men's tennis coach Brad Louderback will also take
on the additional role of Director of Operations for the Sheldon
Coleman Complex, taking over the management of the day-to-day
operations of the tennis complex in addition to his coaching
responsibilities.
What others are saying about Coach Foster:
Jeff Hammond, Head Coach, TCU
“I’m really happy for Colin. A great
program has found a great coach. It’s a great match for both sides, and
he’ll do very well there. I’m extremely proud of him.”
“[At TCU] Colin has taken the team and individual players to an
extremely high level during his time here. There’s no doubt he’ll
continue to do that in the future. He has a great tennis mind.”
Jay Louderback, Head Coach, Notre Dame
“I’ve had the chance to coach against him
at the NCAA tournament quite a few times. I was very impressed with how
he handled his kids. He was terrific with on-court adjustments during
matches to put his kids in a good position to win. I think he’ll be a
great fit at WSU.”
“It seems like his kids always really like playing for him. It always
helps you when your kids respect you and enjoy playing for you. He’ll
work them hard, but they’ll enjoy him, too.”
Mat Iandolo, Head Coach, Utah
“I’ve known Colin since he was a freshman
at Purdue [while coaching women’s tennis at Purdue]. I’ve really
enjoyed watching him develop from a very good college player to a great
college coach. Now he’s been given the shot at coaching at a nationally
ranked collegiate level, and I look forward to watching him excel
there, too.”
“I’ve known him for quite a while. He’s a great guy with a great personality. He will be well-liked at WSU.”
-Wichita State-
