Home Boys' Lists Girls' Lists Men's Teams Women's Teams News Photos Contributors Links Help Sign-UpOnline Store
Latest News | Categories | Authors | News Archives
 
 

News & Features

College Feature
Avila University Prepares to Launch Tennis Programs
Share:    

Jon Renberger has some of the strongest currency possible in attracting recruits. He has a lot of scholarship money and two entire rosters to fill.

Avila University, an NAIA Division I private school located in Kansas City, Missouri, will be adding men’s and women’s tennis programs for the 2024-25 school year. Tennis was originally sponsored by Avila, but was disbanded in the early 1980s.

Renberger was recently hired as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s programs at Avila.

The student population at Avila has grown over the last few years and the university leadership wanted to grow the athletic programs. Tennis is the third sport added since 2020, along with wrestling and bowling for both men and women.

Avila is in the process of building a tennis facility on campus that will include six lighted courts.

“We have tremendous support from the president of the university Dr. Jim Burkee, who has a tennis background, and the athletic director, Shawn Summe,” Renberger said. “They have been able to generate private donations from the community for the facility and to support the program in general. We are just so blessed that NAIA Division I school wants to grow and start programs as opposed to cutting them.”

Avila will play in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), which is the oldest conference in NAIA.

The school offers over 60 degree programs, among them Business, Nursing, Education, Computer Science, Sports Communication, Public Relations/Advertising, Psychology, and Criminology and Justice Studies.

Renberger is starting from scratch in building each roster before the fall season arrives. He has two players who committed to the women’s team before he was hired, and one player for the men’s roster who is a soccer player at the school.

“We have a tremendous opportunity and significant scholarships available,” he said. “The minimum would be having enough players to compete next year, but I am hoping to have rosters of at least 10 or more scholarship players and we have those all available right now.”

Renberger, a University of Kansas graduate, has coached for 32 years in either college or high school. He started at Ottawa University in Kansas as a 22-year-old in 1990, and spent two years at University of Saint Mary in Kansas as the men’s and women’s tennis coach.

In returning to college coaching again more than 20 years later, Renberger has been given a unique chance to build two programs from the ground up.

“We want to kind of focus inside-out with our recruiting,” he said. “We definitely are going to recruit the KC metro area and heavily in the states of Kansas and Missouri. But we certainly want to expand it to the entire country and internationally as well, because I think that creates the most dynamic mix and creates a very healthy team chemistry.”

 
 

About YONEX

We are honored to have YONEX as the presenting sponsor of our College Articles article series at TennisRecruiting.net.

YONEX

YONEX is a successful global company with its corporate headquarters located in Tokyo, Japan. Subsidiary companies operate around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Taiwan and China (Golf). YONEX continues to be driven to produce the most technologically advanced sports equipment to enable players, both amateur and professional, to play their sport at a higher level.

Connect with YONEX on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest, - or on their website.

 

Leave a Comment

 

More College Coverage

7-Jul-2025
Richards Leaves Lasting Five Decade Legacy at Ball State
After a 53-year run, Bill Richards has retired as the head coach of the Ball State men's tennis program. Richards, 77, leaves behind a legacy that is nearly unrivaled in any college sport in terms of longevity, relationships, and player development.

23-Jun-2025
US Open Opportunity Awaits Wild Cards Dostanic, Glozman
Wake Forest's Stefan Dostanic and Stanford's Valerie Glozman will be returning to the US Open in New York later this summer after both captured the singles titles at the inaugural USTA American Collegiate Wild Card Playoff at the National Campus last week.

28-May-2025
Valdosta State, Barry Secure NCAA Division II Titles
The No. 1 Valdosta State men and No. 1 Barry University women captured this year's NCAA Division II team titles. VSU secured back-to-back titles while Barry captured its seventh in the last eight years while avenging last year's final loss.

 
 College Coverage Index |   Subscribe

 

About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at rhiannon@tennisrecruiting.net.
 
 YONEX USA
 
Yonex EZONE | AQUA NIGHT BLACK
 
EZONE's power makes a comeback, delivering easy power with the recognized plush and sweeter feel for players at every level. SAME POWER. NEW LOOK ...
 
See More
 
RECENT COMMITMENTS
 
RECENT HEADLINES
ITA NEWS
THE LATEST FROM ZOOTENNIS
7/14 USTA National Clay Courts Championships Finals Results; Pareja and Ivanov Rise to ITF Junior No. 1 Spots; Wang Wins SoCal Pro Series Finale; Latest…
7/13 Wimbledon Champions Dinner Beckons Boys Winner Ivanov, Girls Doubles Champions Penickova and Valdmannova
7/12 Pohankova Claims Wimbledon Girls Title; Wazny and Paldanius Save Match Points for Second Consecutive Junior Slam Boys Doubles Championship; Glasspool…
7/11 Pareja Reaches Wimbledon Junior Finals in Singles and Doubles; Qualifier Karki's Improbable Run Continues; Leach and Penickova Advance to Doubles…
7/10 Qualifier Karki Gets KitKat Boost to Reach Wimbledon Boys Semifinals; Pohankova Ousts Top Seed Jones, Pareja Beats No. 2 Seed Klugman in Girls…
Colette Lewis has covered topflight junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade. Read her weekly column, follow her on Twitter, and and find more of her daily commentary at ZooTennis.
 
TALK TENNIS

Page updated on Monday, March 10, 2025
Contact our web team with any corrections