David Geatz, a three-time Big Ten coach of the year while leading the Minnesota men's tennis program, was named the Carl Meinig '31 Head Coach of Women's Tennis in July of 2009. He already had served one season as the Richard Savitt and Stephen Weiss Head Coach of Men's Tennis at Cornell, taking over that position a year earlier.
In his first season with the Big Red, Geatz helped Cornell improve to a 14-5 overall record, which was six more wins than the previous season. Four of the Big Red’s losses were to nationally ranked opponents. The Big Red also had a 5-2 league record, which was the most Ivy League wins for Cornell since the creation of a solely Ancient Eight league in 1999. Both of Cornell’s league losses came by way of 4-3 heartbreakers. Cornell finished second in the Ivy League behind Columbia. The runner-up finish was the highest in Cornell Ivy history, and highest in conference play since 1950.
Geatz brings proven leadership to the Big Red after spending 18 years as head coach at the University of Minnesota (1988-2006). During his time in Minneapolis, Geatz directed his team to five Big Ten titles and was named NCAA regional coach of the year once. His teams qualified for 12 NCAA tournament appearances and won 45 straight conference matches at one point. Among his proteges was All-American Harsh Mankad, who was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Prior to his stint in Minnesota, Geatz served as head coach at the University of New Mexico from 1983-88, leading the Lobos to a top-15 national ranking while earning Western Athletic Conference and NCAA regional coach of the year honors.
Geatz most recently was the associate head coach at Ohio State in 2008, helping the Buckeyes to a 35-2 record, a Big Ten title and a ranking as high as No. 2 in the country. The squad finished third overall and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. He spent the previous year (2006-07) as tennis director at the Hong Kong Country Club.
*Updated July 1, 2009
