By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Under Kenny Doyle's watch, Tennessee Tech tennis has developed into a perennial powerhouse, claiming title after title and establishing themselves as a major force to be reckoned with in the landscape of collegiate tennis.
Seven Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championships, five OVC Tournament titles in the last eight years and an 82-19 league record with Doyle in charge has helped elevate the Golden Eagle program into rarified air.
The longest-tenured head coach in school history will continue his reign at the top after receiving a contract extension that will keep him in Cookeville through the end of the 2026-27 year.
"I want to thank President Dr. Phil Oldham and Mark Wilson for their confidence in me to lead this program," Doyle said. "I am happy to have this extension and remain the head coach of Tennessee Tech tennis for the foreseeable future. We have been able to continue a strong culture of winning that dates all the way back to this school's first championship in 1969 and then carried through with all of the other teams that won even before I arrived as head coach. I am looking forward to continuing to compete for titles and have the kind of success we have been accustomed to within this program."
Doyle's 14 years at the helm has featured the program's highest levels of achievement behind a combined 12 OVC regular-season and tournament titles. In fact, Doyle has helped author seven of the school's 14 regular-season crowns to go along with five of the program's seven conference tournament championships, which includes becoming the first OVC school to win four straight tournament titles since the late 90s after the Golden Eagles won it each and every year from 2016-19.
Under Doyle's direction, Tech has made it to five NCAA Tournaments, with the squad's most recent appearance coming in 2022 with a trip to the University of Tennessee. The Golden Eagles also traveled to Ohio State, Cal, Mississippi State and Texas for the most premier event in college tennis during the club's OVC Tournament four-peat from 2016-19.
"The standard that Kenny has set since he has been the head coach of our tennis program has been nothing short of remarkable," TTU Director of Athletics Mark Wilson said. "Under his guidance, Golden Eagle tennis has developed into a top-tier program, reaching a level of success that we strive for here at Tennessee Tech. Every year Kenny's teams are competing for championships, and off the courts, his student-athletes embody the values of this University. We are incredibly fortunate and thankful to have Kenny as head coach and I am excited about the direction of Tennessee Tech tennis moving forward."
A six-time OVC Coach of the Year, Doyle navigated through the challenges of moving to the Horizon League prior to the start of the spring 2023, with the Golden Eagles once again flexing their postseason pedigree toward the end of the campaign. After taking down Northern Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament, the purple and gold topped North Division No. 1 seed Cleveland State in the semifinals against a Vikings team that won 18 of their last 22 contests. Tech's appearance in the championship match marked the seventh-straight full season in which the Golden Eagles made an appearance in a conference tournament title tilt.
The second-winningest coach in program history behind 150 victories as TTU head coach, Doyle's 82 conference nods are the most in school history. Since joining the Golden Eagles prior to the start of the 2009-10 campaign, Doyle has directed just one season in which Tech dropped more than two conference matches. The purple and gold reeled off perfect league ledgers in the spring of 2012, '13, '16, '17 and '21 with Doyle at the controls.
From an individual perspective, 44 Golden Eagles have been named to an All-OVC postseason squad, highlighted by 25 to the All-OVC first team. Since Doyle took over, five Golden Eagles have been named Conference Player of the Year, with current assistant coach Elias Grubert becoming the latest in 2022 in Tech's final season in the OVC. That year featured a piece of program history behind a school record-tying seven conference postseason honors.
Photo by Emily Armstrong
