A Tennis Season Without a Coach
Currently, an error message comes up on the Elmhurst University tennis website under the coach’s tab. That is because the EU men’s and women’s tennis teams have been without a head coach since the resignation of Chris Harrison in late December.
Harrison was named the Director of Tennis in July 2024. He oversaw both the men’s and women’s tennis teams. Harrison is a 2016 graduate of EU and is one of the most decorated tennis players in Bluejay history. Harrison’s wife got a new job that required a relocation to Florida, forcing the resignation.
“Coach Harrison really knew what was going on and it helped that he played at Elmhurst,” said Ioannis Varsamis, senior men’s tennis player. “He had drills and made us more dedicated players and had one on one meetings with us to see how we were doing.”
The Bluejay tennis program has had an understandable tough season without a coach leading the way. With their first games of this year being played in the first week of April, it did not give the Bluejays much time to find a new coach. Putting the players in a tough situation.
“You need to be more driven, there is no one to help you get better, so you have to play more and focus more and realize your own mistakes and help each other on the team for everyone to improve,” said Varsamis. “There is some lack of dedication in a way but at the same time we all love tennis, so we still play hard.”
With the vacant position, Shawna Armstrong has been named the interim head coach for the tennis program.
“She goes out of her way of her job to support the Elmhurst University tennis team in this difficult time of not having a coach,” said Varsamis.
Armstrong is the Assistant Director of Athletics for EU and serves as the Senior Woman Administrator. She was a Student Athlete at North Central College, where she was a member of the golf team. Armstrong was also the graduate assistant for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at North Central from 2009 to 2011.
“Shawna is the best,” said Varsamis. “We had a game, and she got us Shake Shack afterwards. She does not know too much about tennis to really help train us, but she is always there for us players.”
The men’s tennis team wrapped up their season on Saturday, April 26 after their match with Carthage. The women’s tennis team concluded its season on April 18 with a loss to Millikin. The Bluejays will look to have a more successful season next year under a new coach with more stability at the top of the program
Glen Brittich, the Athletic Director of EU, announced in December that the search for the next Director of Tennis had begun, but no further updates have been given.
