By Braden Weinel//
Hood College Athletics has announced the hiring of its new tennis coach.
Emily Maerz was hired as the first full-time head coach for Hood’s tennis program.
Maerz is a Hood alumna and former dual-sport athlete, playing both tennis and basketball for the Blazers. She also previously coached the tennis team at Hood part-time from 2014-2016.
Athletic Director Susan Kolb said that Maerz has the institutional knowledge, coaching experience and skill to be successful at Hood. Kolb said these were “all qualities we absolutely wanted to capture for our tennis program.”
This spring, Maerz will start getting her footing on the team and work to improve stability in the program. Kolb said that recruiting is one way to do that.
Kolb said that the tennis team is full of talent, but unfortunately has a small roster.
Until this fall, the head coaching job for the tennis team was only a part-time position. The job was approved to become a full-time position in October 2022.
According to Kolb, the details and logistics of trying to make a part-time coaching position thrive was challenging, but now that the position was made full-time, she is confident in the program and Maerz.
“Emily was the best fit for what we were looking for,” Kolb said.
Maerz left Hood in 2016 to take a full-time coaching job at Shippensburg University. Shortly after that, she became the coach at Mount Aloysius College.
When previously coaching at Hood, Maerz led the women’s tennis teams to the MAC playoffs in each of the two seasons there.
When Maerz was a player at Hood, she set the record for first all-time in No. 1 singles wins and third all-time in total wins.
Along with coaching the tennis program, Maerz will work alongside Geoff Goyne in the Sports Information Department. She acted as the assistant sports information director at Mount Aloysius.
Maerz will begin her duties in January 2023 and will be ready to run the team for its spring season.
“I couldn’t be more excited for her to join us,” Kolb said.
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