June 3, 1999
LAS VEGAS - Former assistant Douglas Geiwald has been named the new head coach of the UNLV women's tennis program, the school announced Thursday.
Geiwald, 28, becomes the fourth head coach of the Lady Rebels since the program earned varsity status in 1986.
A native of Olofstrom, Sweden, Geiwald has been a member of the UNLV staff since 1996. He replaces six-year head coach Ola Malmqvist who left the school in December to join the United States Tennis Association.
"We're excited to have Douglas as our next head coach for women's tennis here," Senior Woman Administrator Lisa Kelleher said. "He is technically sound in his coaching and has a good rapport with his student-athletes, who have great respect for him. It is always encouraging to be able to reward loyalty by promoting an assistant coach."
Kelleher said Geiwald, who has two scholarships to award for next season, will be expected to draw his players from Las Vegas and beyond.
"Douglas has a plan that includes diversifying our team's makeup, which will include international players as well as players from the United States."
This past year, Geiwald completed his undergraduate degree in hotel management while assisting Director of Tennis Larry Easley and Kelleher in overseeing the women's program after Malmqvist's departure. Geiwald's responsibilities were limited to on-court coaching as the Lady Rebels finished at 9-14 overall but 5-3 in the WAC, which included earning the league's consolation bracket championship last month.
Geiwald, who will retain first-year assistant coach and former Lady Rebel standout Lisa Blenkiron, was one of three finalists for the job.
"We had an extremely strong and diverse pool of candidates," UNLV Director of Athletics Charles Cavagnaro said. "I know the finalists who came in and did not get the job were very disappointed, which speaks highly to the reputation of our program and the direction in which we are moving."
Geiwald, who became Malmqvist's assistant two years after competing briefly for the Rebels in 1994, is an elite international tennis player who was once the 16th-ranked junior singles player in the world. He said he was looking forward to leading the program into new Mountain West Conference.
"The team is in good position to compete not only in the conference but in the region and nationally," Geiwald said. "I will continue the tradition that Ola Malmqvist established here of finding players who not only work hard on the tennis courts but are outstanding in the classroom."
