South Dakota State Director of Athletics Justin Sell announced the hiring of Michael Engdahl as the new head tennis coach on Thursday.

“Michael is a great recruiter and teacher of the game of tennis and deserves this opportunity,” SDSU Senior Associate Athletic Director Leon Costello said. “We look forward to watching our tennis program grow under his leadership.”

Engdahl, who served the last two years as an assistant for now retired head coach Don Hanson, focused primarily on the men’s team and coached them to their most successful season in team history during the 2009-10 season, and coached a total of three all-Summit League players during his time as an assistant.

In addition to coaching at SDSU, Engdahl also spent time as the director and head tennis instructor for Michael Engdahl Tennis, which he founded in 2006. He also worked as the director and head tennis instructor at the St. Cloud Country Club in St. Cloud, Minn., beginning in 2005.

Before starting his own tennis program, Engdahl served as the head tennis coach at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club in Sartell, Minn., from 2005-06, and worked as an assistant at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club in St. Cloud in 2004. He also worked as a tennis instructor at Gold’s Gym in Sartell, and at Set Point Tennis in St. Cloud from 2003-06.

A 2008 graduate of South Dakota State, Engdahl played both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in 2008 as a senior captain for the Jackrabbits.

The St. Cloud, Minn., native transferred to SDSU from St. Cloud State where he played from 2004-05, and competed in the NCAA Division II national tournament twice. He also earned all-North Central Conference selections in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

–Courtesy of SDSU Athletics