Georgia State Names New Men's Head Tennis Coach

by Patch Staff

Georgia State University named Joerg Barthel head coach of its men's tennis program.

Barthel was most recently the associate head coach at the University of Nebraska, where he helped build it into a nationally-ranked program over the last three seasons.

Under Barthel and head coach Kerry McDermott, Nebraska earned the first two NCAA berths in school history in 2010 and 2011 and then made its first appearances in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Men’s Team Indoor Championship in 2011 and 2012. The 2010 team attained the highest national ranking in program history at No. 25 in the ITA poll.

"Joerg is a charismatic young coach with an outstanding ability to recruit," GSU Athletics Director Cheryl L. Levick said in a statement.

"He is well-connected and highly-respected in the tennis community, both in the U.S. and abroad. He will build upon the strong tennis foundation we have at Georgia State and develop a championship-caliber program."

A four-year letterwinner at Nebraska, Barthel, who graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in international studies, led the team in singles and doubles victories as a sophomore before battling injuries his junior and senior seasons.

"I’m extremely excited to be joining an outstanding athletics program like Georgia State, and I’d like to thank Cheryl Levick and [Senior Associate Director of Athletics] Jamie Boggs for this tremendous opportunity," Barthel said.

A native of Friedrichsdorf, Germany, Barthel attended high school at Phillip-Reis-Schule and earned a German national ranking as high as No. 239.