HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker College men's tennis team, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Tom Simpson, will lean on their veteran roster for a successful 2018 campaign. Simpson, who served as the Cobras head tennis coach from 2011 to 2014, takes over the program from his son, Bill. The father-son coaching swap is one of the most unique coaching changes in NCAA Division II history.
The Cobras head into the spring season with a seven-man roster, returning all seven players from last year. Of the seven returners, five are seniors. "We have five seniors returning and they are all healthy this year," said Simpson. "The seniors will provide leadership for our squad this season and will fill our 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 slots."
Highlighting Coker's roster will be seniors Mark Watt, Henrik Hellbe, Felix Schweyer, and sophomore Hunter Horton. Watt and Schweyer posted a team-high 12 singles wins last season. Watt picked up four wins in conference play and Schweyer added five. Hellbe earned four singles wins on the year with one in conference play. Finally, Horton finished third on the team in wins with 11 in his rookie campaign and picked up six of his wins in conference play.
"It's exciting to be with all the seniors again," stated Simpson. "I recruited them, coached them for their first semester, and now I get to come back for their entire senior season."
Returners Dominic Allan, Simon Bergbom, and Walker Long round out the Cobras roster.
The Navy and Gold will open up their season on Feb. 3 when they compete against Erskine and Benedict in Sumter, S.C. Next, Coker will compete against non-conference foes USC Sumter (Feb. 4), The Citadel (Feb. 4), USC Aiken (Feb. 9), Southern Wesleyan (Feb. 16), Johnson C. Smith (Feb. 17), and Francis Marion (Feb. 25) before heading into conference play. The Cobras will open up South Atlantic Conference play on Mar. 10 when they host Tusculum. Other home matches against conference opponents include Wingate (Mar. 28), Mars Hill (Mar. 31), Catawba (Apr. 11), and Anderson (Apr. 14).
As mentioned, head coach of the Coker tennis program, Tom Simpson, returns to Coker after taking a three-year hiatus from the team and is looking forward to leading the Cobras once again.
"It was a very unique experience to step away from the team and head back into the program and see what Bill was able to do with the team," said Simpson. "I will hopefully add to some of the success Bill reached and finish this season strong with this group of student-athletes. I missed the coaching and being around the college game. I was definitely chomping at the bit to be a part of the program again."
Fans are encouraged to follow the 2018 Coker men's tennis season at www.cokercobras.com.