Hunt resigns as head tennis coach; Schneider named interim coach

 
SEGUIN, Texas – Michael Hunt has resigned as head coach for men's and women's tennis at Texas Lutheran University, and former Bulldog tennis player David Schneider has been named as the interim coach.
 
Hunt has accepted a position at the University of Texas at Austin in the university's Title IX Office. Hunt will be a student affairs administrator in the Office of Title IX Training and Investigations.
 
Hunt's last day at TLU will be Feb. 15. Schneider officially starts at TLU on Feb. 1.
 
"This was a tough decision, but ultimately one that I think is the right one for me, personally, and the program going forward, " said Hunt. "I have spent half of my life coaching tennis, and now it's time for new challenges. I will miss the team and my colleagues at TLU very much, but everyone has been supportive of this move."
 
"I want to especially thank Bill Miller, Steve Anderson, President Stuart Dorsey, and Andrew Nelson for giving me this opportunity and for all of their support in the last eight and a half years. TLU is a special place, and I honestly couldn't have felt more supported than I have by the administration."
 
Hunt was in his ninth season as head coach of the TLU men's and women's tennis squads. Hunt started at TLU on June 1, 2010. In addition to his tennis duties at the university, Hunt was TLU's NCAA compliance coordinator, a TLU Title IX deputy coordinator, and the athletics staff sponsor of TLU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
"Coach Hunt excelled in many important roles at TLU," said Miller, TLU's director of athletics. "He will be missed by our tennis student-athletes, by our athletics staff, and by many people across our campus. His leadership and professionalism will be missed. His hard work and the care and concern he displayed toward our students in the TLU Tennis Program are greatly appreciated."
 
"I thank him for his commitment to Texas Lutheran and for the many positive things that he brought to our tennis program and our university."
 
Hunt had over 21 seasons of collegiate coaching experience. Eleven of those years of experience were at the NCAA Division I level. Hunt coached 26 All-Division student-athletes, 53 All-Conference student-athletes, 126 Academic All-Conference student-athletes, three NCAA All-Americans, 70 ITA Scholar-Athletes, three CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees, two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, and 13 ITA All-Academic Teams.
 
The Bulldogs achieved seven Top 20 ITA West Region team rankings in Hunt's tenure. TLU Women's Tennis received four ITA West Region rankings, and the TLU Men picked up three.

Hunt recorded 130 total dual match wins with the Bulldogs. TLU Men's Tennis won 69 dual matches, and TLU Women's Tennis captured 61 victories.
 
In 2014, TLU Men's Tennis finished as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference runner-up. In 2015, TLU Women's Tennis took third in the SCAC Championships.

Hunt coached TLU women's singles player Sofia Vega as she has recorded multiple school firsts and set numerous school records. In 2013, Vega became the first Bulldog to end the fall season as the top-ranked women's singles player in the NCAA Division III West Region of the ITA.

Vega qualified for four NCAA Division III Women's Singles Championships and two USTA/ITA National Small College Championships. She won the 2013 ITA West Region Rookie of the Year award and book-ended that honor with the 2016 ITA West Region Arthur Ashe Leadership/Sportsmanship Award.
 
Vega was a three-time All-American, won two TLU Female Student-Athlete of the Year awards, claimed two CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, and was nominated for NCAA Women of the Year. Vega was named the SCAC Player of the Year and SCAC All-Conference for three consecutive years.

Hunt, a native of Lake Jackson, Texas and the former head women's tennis coach at Sam Houston State University, arrived at TLU after serving as the women's and men's tennis coach at Western Illinois University, an NCAA Division I university in Macomb, Ill.

In addition to his tennis coaching experiences at Western Illinois (2005-2010) and at Sam Houston State (2001-02), Hunt served as the head women's and men's tennis coach at Eastern Illinois University (1999-2001) and as the assistant men's tennis coach at Illinois State University (1997-99), where he received his master's degree in sports management in 1999. Hunt was named the Men's Tennis Coach of the Year for the Summit League three times (2006, 2009 and 2010).
 
Schneider comes to TLU from the University of the Incarnate Word, where he previously served as an assistant director of athletics for operations (2017-18) and as UIW's head equipment manager (2015-17).
 
"I'm excited that we were able to convince David to come on board as our interim head coach," said Hunt. "First and foremost, he loves TLU. He knows our program and how we do things, and he'll continue much of it and improve upon the areas that need it. It's an added bonus that he was an NCAA Division I administrator and can easily handle the administrative tasks associated with coaching."
 
"As a player, David was a no-nonsense and mentally-tough competitor, and he'll bring that mentality to the team. It was important to both Coach Miller and myself to find someone who could come in and hit the ground running, without the need to reinvent the wheel, and we nailed it in David."
 
Schneider graduated from TLU in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and management, and he has a master's of business administration degree (sports management emphasis) from UIW.
 
Schneider was a four-year letterman for TLU Men's Tennis. He played one season under former head coach Bill Lehman and played three seasons with Hunt. Schneider served as a team captain for two years and was a three-time winner of the team's Bill Lehman Heart and Leadership Award.
 
Schneider was named the 2012 Team Co-Most Valuable Player and received the 2012 Dr. Preston Reeves Student-Athlete Award. He was a two-time American Southwest Conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and a three-time ASC Academic All-Conference award winner.
 
Schneider was an ITA Scholar-Athlete honoree and was named to the First Team ASC All-West Division in singles in 2013. He finished his TLU career at No. 7 in career singles wins, No. 8 in career doubles wins, and No. 7 in total career wins.