Sugar Bears tennis finds new coach

UCA’s woman’s tennis program hired a new coach, Jeff Borengasser, over the summer.
Borengasser was men’s and women’s tennis coach at Westminister College in Fulton, Mo. from 2004-2010.
Borengasser had a combined men’s record of 65-37 during that time period and a record 51-46 on the women’s side.
During his seven years at Westminister, Borengasser guided the men’s team to six St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and two titles with the women.
Borengasser was named SLIAC men’s tennis Coach of the Year five times over his career.
Borengasser’s men’s squad qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament four times, while one of his women’s squads qualified.
Athletic Director Brad Teague said the athletic department was drawn to Borengasser for more than just his past success.
“Obviously, we do look at a coach’s past success before hiring, but it is not all about wins and losses,” Teague said. “We wanted to find someone who could advance the program in all ways. We wanted someone who could really take these girls and develop them as people not just as athletes. We also wanted someone who would care about academics as well and not just what happens on the tennis court and we think we found that with Jeff.”
Teague said the athletic department performed a national search for their next coach and Borengasser was the name that rose to the top.
Borengasser said he was excited to make the move to Division I tennis.
“I had great success at the Division III, but of course its exciting to make the move to Division I and I’m ready to get started,” Borengasser said.
Borengasser was an instructor at Burns Park Tennis Center in North Little Rock before being named coach at UCA.
Senior Allison Hartman said she was hopeful the athletic department would find a coach with experience like Borengasser.
“The rest of the team and I were hopeful the athletic department would find someone who would take the program seriously and really have the desire to improve the tennis program as a whole,” Hartman said. “And I think they have.”
Hartman said she has only met Borengasser once, but she was pleased with their meeting.
“He seems really optimistic about the season and already has our schedule planned out,” Hartman said. “His optimism makes us optimistic as well.”
Hartman said she thinks there is room for a lot of improvement from last year with Borengasser coaching this season.
“He brings a lot of valuable experience and success to our program and will really know how to take our playing to the next level,” Hartman said.
Hartman said she is most excited that Borengasser will know how to deal with and handle the team because of his experience.
“He knows what to expect and how to motivate his players,” Hartman said. “He’s also an experienced teaching professional, so that will help us in terms of our technique.”