Wentz Named New Women's Tennis CoachJuly 15, 2003 MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has named Erika Wentz as its head women's tennis coach, Director of Athletics Bud Haidet announced today. Wentz replaces Erin Jex, who resigned after the conclusion of the 2003 season. "Erika has a tremendous background as a player and as a professional," Haidet said. "She has the coaching and recruiting skills to help build the tennis program and move it to the top of the Horizon League." Wentz has spent the past 11 years at the Elite Fitness and Racquet Clubs in Brookfield, Wis., where she is a USPTA Tennis Professional, along with serving as the club's Director of Special Events and Facilities. During her time in Brookfield, she has coached elite players, including state, section and nationally ranked players. She has also been selected as a USTA National Zonal Coach. She will remain at Elite Fitness and Raquet Clubs in addition to her duties at UWM. Wentz played tennis at the University of Texas-El Paso, graduating in 1999 with a degree in Kinesiology. While at UTEP, she was named All-Western Athletic Conference twice. Wentz was ranked in the top 50 in doubles in the nation three times, and was ranked as high as 30th. She also has the highest cumulative win record in UTEP history. A native of Brookfield, Wis., she graduated from Brookfield Central in 1994, again with the highest win total in school history. While at Brookfield Central, she was a four-time all-state honoree, finishing second in singles as a senior and seventh in singles as a junior. She also won a state title in doubles as a sophomore after finishing third during her junior season. "This is a great opportunity for me to come in and build a program," Wentz said. "We're basically starting from scratch, but we're going to work harder and practice harder than ever before. Obviously, we'd like to see more wins, but I also want to try to strengthen the schedule and play some tougher opponents. "
The Panthers return five players from last year's team that finished 4-14, including a 1-6 mark in the Horizon League.
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