Marquette Names Steve Rodecap Head Men's Tennis Coach
7/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
July 29, 2003
MILWAUKEE -- Marquette University Athletics Bill Cords has announced the appointment of Steve Rodecap as head men's tennis coach. Rodecap assumes the duties previously held by David Staniford who left the program to take over the head coaching duties at Newberry College in South Carolina.
Rodecap joins the Marquette program after a successful four-year stint as the head coach at Northern Illinois. This past season, Rodecap guided the program to a runner-up finish at the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Under Rodecap's tutelage, the Huskies placed four players on the All-Mid American Conference team including Raymond vanWasbeek who earned his third consecutive first-team berth. The squad finished the year with a 16-10 overall record, the most victories by NIU since 1996-97. In addition to its success on the court, the NIU tennis team fashioned an impressive 3.48 team GPA and placed two players on the Academic All-MAC Team.
"We are confident that Steve will bring strength and quality to our men's tennis program, the university, the Milwaukee-tennis community and the Milwaukee Tennis Classic," Cords said. "He comes with high recommendations from tennis leaders in intercollegiate athletics. Steve has been very successful as both a player and coach and we look forward to his new career as head men's tennis coach at Marquette."
Prior to his stint at Northern Illinois, Rodecap served as an assistant coach at TCU for the 1998-99 campaign and helped lead the Horned Frogs to a 14-6 record and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Regional Championships. Before his TCU stop, he served as a graduate assistant coach at Ball State (1996-98) and helped the Cardinals to a pair of MAC titles.
"I think that Marquette has hired one of the top young coaches in the country," said Michael Center, who Rodecap worked for at TCU and who is now the head tennis coach at Texas. "He will do great things at Marquette and for the Milwaukee-area tennis community."
"It is an honor to be able to coach at a school like Marquette," Rodecap stated on his appointment. "Its standards, both academically and athletically, are second to none. When I was on campus, I was impressed with the people who I would be working with on a daily basis, both in the athletic department and in the community. It is definitely a good fit for my family."
A standout player in his own right at Ball State from 1992-96, Rodecap helped BSU to a trio of MAC titles (1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95). His work both on and off the court helped him earn the MAC Commissioner's Award in 1994.
"I would like to express my appreciation for Cary Groth, the athletic director at Northern Illinois, and the players who I coached there," Rodecap said. "I received a great deal of support from them and appreciate all that they did for me."