Bethany Lutheran hires new head men's and women's tennis coach
2/2/2012 2:22:40 PM
MANKATO, Minn. – Bethany Lutheran College athletic director Karl Fager announces the hiring of Andrew Krueger as the Vikings new head tennis coach beginning with the 2012 -13 academic year. Krueger succeeds Adie Harstad who will retire at the end of the 2012 season.
Krueger comes to Bethany with a wealth of tennis experience. He is a native of Winona, Minnesota, where he was a member of the 1995 Big 9 Conference champion and state-ranked Winona High School boy’s tennis team. He has coached at Mankato East High School since 2007 as the head girl’s tennis coach and assistant boy’s coach. His teams have compiled a 39-36 record while playing in the highly competitive Big 9 Conference. Krueger was selected as the Big 9 Conference Coach of the Year in 2009.
Krueger spends his summers as the co-director of the Mankato Area Junior Tennis Program. He has been instrumental in helping to increase the number of young athletes in the summer tennis program. The Mankato Area Junior Tennis Program sent a team to the National Junior Tournament in 2009 featuring four girls he coached at Mankato East.
Krueger likes to develop well-rounded players who are ready to adapt to their opponent. He does this by “analyzing a player's strengths and weaknesses, focusing on drills to improve those weaknesses, developing all skills and specifically what is needed for the upcoming opponent.”
His goals for the Bethany tennis program include a more involved fall season, conditioning programs, strengthening the recruiting process, and becoming more competitive in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). Last year the Bethany men’s and women’s tennis teams both finished fifth in the conference. This season’s UMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll is set to be released February 29, 2012.
Krueger has earned a master of education from the University of Minnesota and a master of business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. While Krueger is in the process of visiting with prospective athletes now, he will officially begin his duties at Bethany on August 1, 2012.