New recruits show up at campus tennis courts each fall. But at two local colleges, it's not just the players who have changed but the coaches.
Shari Bucklin-Webber takes over the men's and women's programs at Millersville University, while Lancaster County native George Zink has been named to a similar position at Franklin & Marshall College. Manheim Township graduate and former University of Georgia All-American Anne Nguyen has been hired as Zink's assistant.
Bucklin-Webber replaces DeWitt Boyd, a five-time conference Coach of the Year who stepped down at the end of the spring season to become a full-time teaching professional at Lancaster Country Club.
In 13 years at Millersville, including 11 years as men's and women's coach, Boyd's teams posted a combined record of 306-136-2. His 144 wins as men's coach and 162 as women's top both lists. Nine of his men's teams qualified for the NCAA team championships and two — the 1996 and 1999 squads — won NCAA Regional titles. The women's team was even more successful, winning five consecutive PSAC and NCAA Regional titles. They won seven NCAA Regional titles during Boyd's tenure and qualified for the NCAA championships nine times.
Bucklin-Webber is a former standout and head coach at Marshall University. She also served as assistant coach at Notre Dame and has coached the Millersville women's team each of the past two years. The 2007 team qualified for the NCAA Regionals. She also served as boys head coach at Exeter High School in Berks County and teaches at Lancaster Country Club.
Bucklin-Webber will be assisted by Eric Evans, who also teaches tennis at Hempfield Sports Complex, and by 2007 graduate Greg Bennett, who played No. 1 for the Marauders for four years.
This is Zink's second tour as a college coach. He coached the Elizabethtown College women's team from 1999 to 2002 before leaving to become director of tennis at Bent Creek Country Club. He continues in that capacity, and said he hopes to have several Bent Creek teaching professionals help with the F&M team.
Zink replaces women's coach Patty Epps, who was named F&M athletic director this summer, and F&M men's coach Mark Moshos, who cited a conflict with his job as his reason for stepping down.
During Moshos' four years, the Diplomats had a 31-29 record and were 18-15 in conference play.
Zink said he was attracted to F&M by the school's "world class facilities" — the new Brooks Tennis Center and the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center.
In a press release, Epps said she was excited to have brought in Zink and Nguyen.
"Their arrival, combined with our first-rate tennis facilities and our strong racquet tradition, will provide an outstanding platform from which Franklin & Marshall tennis will leap to unprecedented heights," she said.
"I think I really can make a difference," Zink said. "We're striving to have a nationally ranked team."
Nguyen, who teaches at Bent Creek and Wisehaven Tennis Center in York, was a pupil of Zink's and reached a No. 2 national ranking as a junior player. She achieved All-America status her sophomore year at Georgia and was instrumental in helping the team win the 2000 NCAA National Championship and the 2002 National Indoor title. She also won the ITA Regional singles championship and was an all-Southeastern Conference selection three times.
E-mail: ecornelius@lnpnews.com