EWU begins search for new tennis coach

The Eastern Washington University athletic department will be moving to quickly fill the men’s tennis head coaching position after Steve Clark resigned from his post, EWU Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey announced Friday, Aug. 9.

Hickey said EWU will move as expediently as possible to find a replacement, with classes beginning at EWU on Sept. 25 and fall competition starting shortly after that.

The last day on staff for Clark will be Sept. 5. He spent five seasons as EWU’s head coach, giving him over 30 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and club levels.

“It was a very difficult decision,” Clark said in a news release. “I love college coaching as evidenced by over 30 years coaching. But for various personal and family needs, I am pursuing other areas in the tennis industry.”

Clark was hired prior to the 2014-15 season as the fourth men’s head tennis coach in Eastern Washington history. He has coached an All-Big Sky Conference player in each of his five seasons, and had a dual-match record of 38-70 overall and 21-33 in Big Sky competition.

His 2018-19 squad recently earned an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team Award for the third time in four seasons. Additionally, the Eagles placed four student-athletes on the ITA Scholar-Athlete list, the third-most in the league.

“We thank Steve for his years of service to our institution,” said Hickey. “We wish him well in the future, and certainly hope his new career step will be successful.”