Geneva Athletics Leaps Ahead - Geneva College
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Geneva Athletics Leaps Ahead

new sports

New NCAA Sports

Geneva College is thrilled to announce that it is expanding its extensive list of NCAA Division III varsity sports—making a Geneva education more attractive to student-athletes who are interested in golf and tennis. With the addition of men’s and women’s golf and men’s tennis, Geneva’s varsity programs will increase from 15 to 18.

Because of extensive interest in tennis at Geneva and an existing program for women, men’s tennis is being fast-tracked to begin in the fall semester of 2015. Golf programs will compete during both the fall and spring semesters, beginning in the fall semester of 2016.

According to Geneva College Athletic Director Van Zanic, adding these programs will make the college more competitive in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC), in which the Golden Tornadoes compete. “We are very excited to have this opportunity, and feel as though men’s and women’s golf and men’s tennis will give our coaches greater ability to bring in new students and give them an outstanding athletic and academic experience,” said Zanic.

Mandee Craft, who has been certified through the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), has been named head coach for the men’s tennis team. A part-time staff member as the women’s tennis coach, Craft is taking on full-time status as head coach of both the men’s and women’s tennis programs.

She has been directing the women’s program for 15 years, the fourth longest tenure of any coach on Geneva’s staff and the second longest women’s tennis tenure in school history. During that time, Craft compiled an overall record of 86-87. Craft saw the women’s tennis program through a transition from the NAIA into the NCAA Division III and will now lead Geneva through another transition as the Golden Tornadoes reintroduce men’s tennis, which came to an end in 1998.

"It's been many years since Geneva has fielded a men's tennis team, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to help build that program back up,” Craft said. “It's an exciting time for Geneva tennis as a whole, and also for the college. In the past month or so, I've had the opportunity to interact with both current Geneva students as well as 2015 high school grads, and I believe that we will be ready to go by next year” commented head coach Mandee Craft. “I think the current students that we have deserve the opportunity to represent Geneva on the court before graduating, plus their leadership will help start this program off on a positive note.”

Before joining Geneva’s coaching staff, she enjoyed a great career on the court for the Golden Tornadoes. Craft joined the tennis team in 1997 and excelled in both singles and doubles play, earning a number of All-Conference awards. During her freshman season, Craft helped lead her team to its most recent trip to a national tournament. She continues to hold Geneva’s doubles career record with 56 wins.

Van Zanic said, “I couldn’t be more pleased with the work that Coach Craft is doing for men’s tennis. She has jumped in with both feet and is doing a great job in recruiting. As a result, we are so excited to be able to jump start our beginning date by a whole year. Moving things up a year will also allow some of our current students to have the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics before they graduate.”

Men’s basketball head coach Jeff Santarsiero will add coaching men’s and women’s golf to his duties. Santarsiero possesses years of experience in the sport, both as a player and as an instructor. He has taught physical education golf classes at Geneva College and as an independent golf instructor in off-campus private lessons.

The teams will compete in the PAC Golf Championships, which include 36 holes in both the fall and the spring. The accumulation of these 36-hole tournaments equates to the conference’s championship finals.

The home course for the golf program is to be determined.

 “Our coaches have done an outstanding job in recent years to target men and women that have succeeded in and out of the athletic arena,” concluded Zanic. “Specifically, Coach Santarsiero and Coach Craft have done great things within their respective programs, and I am confident that they will be able to build solid programs in golf and tennis in the years to come.”

With the addition of the new programs, the complete list of men’s varsity sports is baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. Women’s varsity sports are basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and volleyball.

Geneva also offers junior varsity baseball, football and men’s soccer, as well as a number of intramural and club sports that boast high levels of student participation.

In addition to the NCAA DIII and the PAC, Geneva is a full member of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).

More information and online recruit forms

Geneva College invites students to step forward and leap ahead with an academically excellent, Christ-centered and affordable education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majorsAdult Degree Programs with fully online and campus-based options, and high-demand advanced graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top 10 Best Value with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world.

Geneva College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarships and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
Jan 31, 2015