MARSHALL – Southwest Minnesota State University Director of Athletics Chris Hmielewski announced Monday that Andrew Cobb has been hired as the new head women’s tennis coach at SMSU.

Cobb comes to SMSU following three seasons as the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at NAIA Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina.

Cobb, who becomes the ninth head coach in program history, replaces Adam Henning, who resigned on May 10 to accept another position within SMSU.

“Andrew brings the experience, knowledge, passion and leadership skills we were looking for in our next head women’s tennis coach,” Hmielewski said. “It was evident in the interview process his priorities for the women’s tennis program were in alignment with the SMSU Department of Athletics and NCAA Division II. Coach Cobb values student-athlete academic success and providing our student-athletes with a great experience on and off the court. He believes in engaging our student-athletes in the community and providing them civic engagement activities that positively impact the youth while promoting tennis in Marshall and the region. We are excited to welcome Coach Cobb to the Mustang family.”

During just the second season of his tenure at Montreat, Cobb helped lead both the men’s and women’s team to their best record in more than a decade. He coached a pair of women’s players named to the conference All-Freshman team and had numerous student-athletes named to the All-Academic squad during his three seasons.

“I am very honored and thankful to be the new head women’s tennis coach at Southwest Minnesota State University,” Cobb said. “First and foremost, I want to thank search committee chair, Allison Monson, and the entire search committee for their work during this process. Secondly, I want to thank Chris Hmielewski for trusting me to coach and lead the women’s tennis program. I also want to thank Montreat College and Director of Athletics Jose Larios for providing my first opportunity as a head coach. Lastly, I want to thank former SMSU head coach, Adam Henning, for the great work he did in building the program. I am looking forward to joining the Mustang Family and continuing the success of the women’s tennis program on and off the court.”

Prior to Montreat, Cobb spent two seasons as assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach at Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia. During his time at Reinhardt, he helped coach the men’s team to a program high No. 15 national ranking, back-to-back winning seasons, and its first-ever conference tournament championship. The team also qualified for the NAIA national tournament and advanced to the Round of 16.

Cobb helped the Reinhardt women’s team to its first-ever back-to-back winning seasons and its first-ever regular season championship in 2015. The women’s team also earned a No. 22 national ranking and advanced to the conference tournament finals in both 2014 and 2015.

As a collegiate player, Cobb played four seasons at Reinhardt University and earned All-Appalachian Athletic Conference honors and Academic All-AAC accolades during his career. A three-time AAC Player of the Week honoree, Cobb also earned a spot on the NAIA Daktronics All-Scholar Team.

“When I visited Marshall, I had the opportunity to meet a few coaches and players and got a great feeling about the campus and the surrounding community,” Cobb said. “The players are hungry to improve their game and make their mark in the NSIC, and I’m excited to be a part of their journey.”

Cobb is a 2013 graduate of Reinhardt University (Ga.) with a degree in business administration. He also earned his master’s degree in business administration from Reinhardt in 2015.

Cobb is also certified as a USPTA Elite Professional and has extensive experience as an academy coach.

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