SEWARD, Neb. – After four seasons leading the Concordia University tennis programs, Joel Reckewey announced his resignation, which became effective this past month. The Lincoln native plans to continue to be active within the local tennis scene. A University of Nebraska-Lincoln alum, Reckewey became head coach for Bulldog tennis prior to the 2015 seasons.
In his final season as head coach, Reckewey came up just shy of leading the women’s program to the GPAC tournament championship match. Spurred by perennial all-conference performer Annie Horn, Concordia reached the conference semifinals in each of Reckewey’s final three years in Seward. Meanwhile, the men’s program reached the GPAC semis in 2017. While effectively increasing the roster numbers for both the men’s and women’s programs, Reckewey won a combined 63 matches. The 13 wins for the women in 2018 were a school single-season record.
Director of Athletics Devin Smith thanked Reckewey for his service. Said Smith, “Coach Reckewey has been a blessing to the Bulldog Athletic Department over the past few years. Joel has been a tireless recruiter who bolstered both men’s and women’s rosters, emphasized high academic expectations as seen with the collection of NAIA Scholar Team Awards, and provided amazing instructional techniques and strategies that emphasized his strong tennis knowledge. He was very committed to our university’s mission and was a passionate leader throughout his time here. We wish Joel and his young family the best.”
In addition to competitive play on the court, the Concordia tennis programs have routinely appeared on the list of NAIA Scholar-Teams released each summer. Over four years, Reckewey’s squads produced a combined 13 individual NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards.
The position of head tennis coach at Concordia remains open. Nikita Kostikov will serve as the graduate assistant tennis coach during the 2018-19 academic year.