Courtesy of Lake Superior State Sports Information
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. -- Lake Superior State has named former Mount Saint Mary College (Newburgh, N.Y.) head men's tennis coach Eric Sturgis the head coach of both the Laker men's and women's tennis teams.
The announcement was made Friday by LSSU Director of Athletics, Kris Dunbar. Sturgis replaced Tom Linhart, who guided the Laker tennis program for six seasons before returning to his home state of New York to coach at Elmira College. Sturgis, who hails from Ann Arbor, Mich., began his coaching career in his home state by successfully mentoring high school teams.
After earning a M.S. in coaching and athletic administration at Concordia University-Irvine, took the helm of the Knights in February, 2015. He handled all aspects of running the program including player development, stroke production, and managing matches and practices.
"We are very pleased that Coach Sturgis has accepted the position of head men's and women's tennis coach," Dunbar said. "His enthusiasm and strong work ethic will help move the tennis programs forward. He's known for having a great network in the state of Michigan, which will help with recruiting."
"I would like to thank Kris Dunbar, Jennifer Constantino and Brian Snyder for all of their hard work on the interview committee." Sturgis said. "I am honored to join the Laker family and have the opportunity to work with such a great staff.
"I have high expectations for our tennis program at Lake State and I would like to see us in the top half of the GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) every season and maintain a team grade-point average of 3.4 or better," Sturgis continued.
While coaching prep tennis in Michigan, Sturgis coached seven individual state champions, three doubles state champions, and took Troy High School to its highest-ever state finals finish in school history (third) in 2007. He was named Regional Coach of the Year three times.
Sturgis graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in history from Eastern Michigan University in 2014.
