KENNESAW, Ga. – Director of Tennis Matt Emery announced the additions of Kirsten Lewis and Simon Pritchard as assistant coaches Thursday afternoon.
 
"I'm incredibly excited to have Kirsten and Simon join our coaching staff," Emery said. "These two stood out to me during the search for one main reason: they epitomize what we are looking for in a Kennesaw State student-athlete. My hope is that their work ethic, dedication to being a complete student-athlete, and passion for KSU Tennis will rub off on our players."
 
Lewis comes to KSU from Eastern Kentucky where she served as an assistant women's tennis coach at during the 2017-18 season. While at EKU, she helped lead the women's team to its first OVC title since 2013 and fourth NCAA appearance in program history, posting a 16-8 record, claiming the regular season title (including a 9-0 record in OVC play) and placing four women on All-OVC teams for the first time since 2012.
 
"I am extremely grateful to be a part of the Owl family," Lewis said. "I would like to thank Matt Emery, Mindy Mager-Debruce, and the rest of the KSU athletic department for giving me an amazing opportunity. I am very excited to work alongside Coach Emery and Coach Pritchard in helping to make this program a special place to be for student athletes."
 
Lewis served as the Head Tennis Instructor at Arlington Country Club in Richmond, Kentucky from June-August 2018. Lewis was in charge of preparation and supervision of all practices, tournament competition, team functions throughout the summer season for competitive juniors and on-court instruction for state and nationally ranked junior players.
 
"Kirsten was a Dean's List Scholar, the runner-up for NCAA Woman of the Year, team captain for two seasons on successful teams at Kentucky, as well as a selfless leader and incredible player," said Emery. "Her work ethic and ability to positively motivate players to maximize their potential make her a rising star in college coaching."
 
Lewis played tennis at the University of Kentucky from 2012-16. At UK, she competed in all four spring seasons in both singles and doubles, recorded multiple wins over ranked teams and opponents during her career. She helped lead the Wildcats to four SEC and three NCAA tournament appearances, while serving as team captain and as a Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative. She was Kentucky's nominee for NCAA Women of the Year award and the NCAA Ethnic Minority Scholarship recipient in 2016. In 2015, she received the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award. Lewis received her degree from Kentucky in 2016 in Exercise Science.
 
Pritchard returns to KSU after working as a financial analyst at Lighthouse Private Equity for one year.
 
"I am excited to be back at Kennesaw State and part of the team again - but this time in a different capacity," Pritchard said. "Coaching is going to pose some different challenges to when I was a player, but I am eager for the challenge and looking forward to helping the team compete at the level I know they can. I am super pumped to be back and helping the team work towards some Conference Championship titles."
 
Prior to working in the financial industry, Pritchard was a standout student-athlete at Kennesaw State from 2013-2017. While at KSU, he was a four-year team captain and currently holds the program record for wins in singles and doubles. He was named ASUN Male Conference Student Athlete of the Year in 2016 and was a two-time ASUN Scholar Athlete of the Year. Pritchard graduated from KSU with his degree in Economics in the spring of 2017.

"Simon is a Dean's List Scholar, former A-SUN Conference Male Athlete of the Year, and currently the winningest player in Kennesaw State Tennis history," Emery said. "Not only was he incredibly successful on and off the court, but he did it the right way.
 
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