April 12, 2006
Release courtesy of Dave Blanchard, Luther College sports information director

DECORAH, IOWA . . . Su Oertel, Luther College’s legendary women’s tennis coach and associate professor of health and physical education, has announced she will retire at the end of the 2005-06 academic year after a 31-year career at the college.

Joe Thompson, Luther College director of intercollegiate athletics, said Oertel’s retirement will mark the passing of an era of women’s sports history at the college. Luther will celebrate the incredible accomplishments of her coaching and teaching career, Thompson said, but will regret the end of the career of perhaps the best known and most successful coach in the college’s 100-plus year history of intercollegiate sports competition.

“We are losing one of our coaching legends and a cornerstone of our women’s athletic program,” Thompson said. “For 31 years Su Oertel has been the leader of the best women’s tennis program in the Iowa Conference. She has touched many lives during her tenure and she will be greatly missed.”

Oertel, whose tennis coaching career dual meet record is 383-189, has been a student-athlete, coach and leader in an era that witnessed full inclusion and respect for women’s athletic programs in colleges and universities nationwide. She was involved in the transition of governance of women’s sports by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) to the NCAA and the growth of women’s athletics at Luther College and in the Iowa Conference from a few selected sports to nine varsity programs.

As head tennis coach at Luther, Oertel guided the Norse to four AIAW Iowa State Championships in five years and an unmatched 23 of 24 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women’s tennis championships, including 19 consecutive titles from 1982-2000.

Oertel has been named Iowa Conference Tennis Coach of the Year a record 12 times. Her student-athletes have made 10 trips to the NCAA Division III national team tournament and 13 trips to the NCAA III national individual tournament.

She has coached two NCAA tournament doubles semifinalists and one NCAA tournament singles quarterfinalist. Honors won by Luther tennis players in her program include 37 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar Athletes, 12 ITA All-Americans, and 10 ITA Academic All-America teams. Oertel served as head coach of the Luther women’s basketball program 1975-84 and ranks second all-time for career wins with 87. In 1985, she was honored as one of the Outstanding Young Women in America.

Oertel has served on the NCAA Midwest National and Regional Tennis Selections Committees, the NCAA National Tennis Committee, the ITA Board of Directors, National and Regional Rankings Committees, Hall of Fame Committee and Awards Committee. In 1992, she was voted ITA National Coach of the Year Division III Women.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette named her one of the Top 10 Coaches of the Century in 1999, the only Division III coach to be so honored. Most recently, she was inducted into the 2004 Missouri Valley Tennis Hall of Fame and the 2005 Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame.

A 1972 graduate of Luther, Oertel was an outstanding student-athlete in women’s basketball and tennis.

“It has been a great honor to be called to teach and coach at Luther College following my years as a student-athlete here,” Oertel said. “The administrators, faculty, staff and students have made it a special place, a community that has impacted greatly on my life, growth and faith.

“I have millions of fond memories of conversing with people across campus and of working with students in physical education classes and especially, on the women’s tennis and basketball teams through the years.

“Oh those characters!” Oertel said of the memorable student-athletes who competed in her programs. “I hope I have had as positive an impact on their lives as they have had on mine.

“I also enjoyed the professional opportunities with the NCAA and the ITA in regards to the development and operation of Division III women’s tennis,” Oertel said. “All of these have given my life meaning and happiness.

“Now I look forward to ‘everyday being Saturday,’” she said of her plans for retirement.

“As sad as I am to see Su retire, I am happy that she will have the time and freedom to enjoy other activities that have been delayed until now,” Thompson said. “The entire Luther community expresses its sincere gratitude for her many years of fine service to the college.”

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