July 23, 2009
(release courtesy of Mark Adkins, Wartburg College sports information)

WAVERLY, IOWA . . . Wartburg College Director of Athletics Rick Willis has announced the hiring of Matt Tyler as head men’s and women’s tennis coach and equipment manager for the athletic department. Tyler replaces Ben Oestreich who is leaving the Knights’ program at the end of the month to take the head women’s tennis coaching slot at Edgewood College in Madison, Wis.

“I am extremely excited about coming to Wartburg,” he said. “I see both teams having a lot of potential towards continued building for success.”

“It will also be great to come back to some family in Iowa,” he added. “My father, Steve, is the head coach at Central, and my grandparents have been in the Marshalltown and Fort Dodge areas for some time. My wife, Erin, and I see this as a great opportunity.”

Before coming to Wartburg, Tyler was an assistant at NCAA Division I Colgate University of New York since July of 2008. The Raiders finished the 2009 campaign with a 12-8 record and were runner-ups in the Patriot League.

“We are excited to welcome him to Wartburg,” Willis said. “He is an enthusiastic young coach with a passion for the game which we feel will continue to bring our men’s and women’s tennis programs into the top level of the Iowa Conference and beyond.”

Prior to coaching at Colgate, he had been the tennis professional at the Ken Caryl Ranch in Littleton, Colo., since 2004, working for one of the largest junior tennis programs in the state. He was in charge of coaching sectionally and nationally-ranked juniors and assisting juniors with recruitment into collegiate tennis. He also created and ran the Ken Caryl Ranch High Performance Program. Before his stay at Ken Caryl, he held the position of assistant tennis pro at Junction Tennis Academy in Colorado from 2002-2004 and was an instructor at Benson’s Nike Tennis Camp in the summer of 2000.

Tyler earned his degree from Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo., in 2005, where he was a member of the tennis team. He played at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles during his two years and moved up to No. 1 singles along with playing at No. 1 doubles his senior year. He was named No. 1 doubles second-team all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2003.

After his graduation, he played in the professional circuit until 2007, competing at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures level for three years and being ranked in the top 10 in the men’s open division in Colorado. He was ranked No. 444 in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit in 2007 on the list of the top 500 players from the U.S.

Tyler has been a member of the United States Tennis Association for 15 years. He is certified as a United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) P 3 teaching professional.

He and his wife, Erin, will reside in Waverly.

-30-