Ball State men's tennis coach Bill Richards announced the hiring of graduate assistant Jarrod Epkey to his 2011-2012 staff Thursday, according to a press release.
Epkey, a 2008 graduate of Ball State, transferred from Southern Indiana in 2006 to play for Richards during his sophomore and junior seasons. He was unable to play during the 2008 season due to a back injury.
Richards said he is pleased to have Epkey join his coaching staff.
"We traditionally have tried to have former players as our graduate assistants, and Jarrod was interested in pursuing a coaching career," Richards said. "The timing was good, and we needed someone, and he was interested in coming on board. It was a good fit. I couldn't be happier to have him."
In his time at Southern Indiana, Epkey managed a 19-6 record in singles play and a 17-3 record with brother, Joe.
During the 2005-2006 season, Epkey and his other brother, Tony managed a 25-8 mark in doubles play while also going 5-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
Epkey was also named MAC Player of the Week in April of 2006. Epkey played an important role in the Cardinals clinching its 19th MAC regular season title in a victory over Northern Illinois.
In the match, he earned an 8-4 doubles win with his brother, Tony and a 6-4, 7-5 victory in the No. 5 singles position
After graduation, Epkey volunteered to be the men's and women's assistant tennis coach at the University of Indianapolis from September 2009-2011. He also serves as a tennis professional in Indianapolis.
Epkey's familiarity with his old coach will give him a chance to help the team, Richards said.
"I think he's very familiar with me and what my methods are," he said. "Having spent three years with me as a player, he knows what my expectations are and we're familiar with one another. His experience in teaching and coaching for the last three years has been a very high level. I think the combination of the two will put us in a situation where he's going to make a great contribution to our team and our program."
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