Women's Tennis

 

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COLCHESTER, Vt. - Saint Michael's College Associate Director of Athletics Tacy Lincoln announced the hire of Megan Collins as women's tennis head coach on Thursday.

 

A Burlington native, Collins has worked with the Junior Tennis Program at the Burlington Tennis Club since 2018, starting as an instructor before becoming the director in 2019. Collins, who also gives private lessons and leads hitting sessions with adult players, designs and teaches youths through the program and organized the club's first United States Tennis Association (USTA) Team Challenge during her first year as director. Collins initially joined the Saint Michael's coaching staff last fall as an assistant coach under previous head coach Tom Twitchell before the traditional fall season was pushed to the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"Luckily for us, tennis is a fairly safe sport for a pandemic, so I'm looking forward to having a productive and fulfilling season," said Collins. "In the fall, I worked with each player individually once a week to focus on their personal tennis goals, a concept I brought with me from my own college team and will continue this spring. In addition to individual skill development, I'm excited to work on building team camaraderie and a strong roster for the future. This team has so much potential, and I can't wait to see how our ladies grow and improve this season."

 

Collins played four years of tennis at NCAA Division III regional power Kenyon (Ohio) College, graduating in 2020 after serving as a senior captain. The Ladies went 59-18 overall and 9-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) during her career, winning the NCAC Tournament and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament each of her first three seasons, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2019; the 2020 campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kenyon finished no worse than 30th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national poll throughout Collins' tenure, ending as high as 13th, in 2020. Collins went 39-11 as a collegian, finishing 22-7 in singles and 17-4 during doubles.

 

"My family and friends sometimes grow weary of my love of tennis, but I just can't get enough," added Collins. "I'm so grateful for this opportunity to share my knowledge of the game with college athletes who remind me so much of myself. As a young coach, I'm so appreciative of the guidance and support of SMC's Athletic Department. My mom is a Saint Mike's alum, so it's really exciting for my family and me to reconnect with the College in this way."

 

Collins, who earned a bachelor's degree in economics while minoring in biology, was a member of the Kenyon Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (KSAAC) as a senior, when she also served as a Senior Admissions Fellow, interviewing prospective students and serving on informational panels. While an undergraduate, Collins was a National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) mentor for three years through the Knox County Juvenile Mental Health Court.

 

 

Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete. 

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.