THIBODAUX, La. –  Nicholls State University has hired Tavis Rieger as assistant coach for the Colonel tennis program, head coach Greg Harkins announced Friday.

"We're delighted to have Tavis on board. He comes with a lot of experience as a coach and as an educator," Harkins said. "He has a lot of energy and discipline, and we look forward to him joining the staff and being a part of where the vision of our program is headed. I'd like to thank the administration as Tavis is the first full-time coach in our program's history which is a big step forward in stabilizing our program and giving us the ability to expand our base locally, regionally, and nationally."

Rieger joined the Colonels after leading the Martin Methodists tennis programs since September of 2017. Both teams reached the 2018 Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament, with the women's team, which garnered a top 25 ranking in the NAIA, earning a win in the opening round.

A total of four Redhawks earned all-conference honors last spring, including Skylar McDonald who was an NAIA All-American honorable mention selection.  Two of the men's student-athletes - Jesus Quesada and Nico Galleguillo - also garnered success in ITA competition by reaching the quarterfinals in singles play in the fall of 2017 and teamed up in doubles to make the semifinals. Last year,  Quesada made an appearance in the finals in singles.

In the classroom, both squads were tabbed NAIA All-Scholar and had four players earn all-academic.

Before taking over at Martin Methodist, Rieger served as an assistant at Indiana Tech for the women and men from 2014-17. While there, the men's program emerged as a top 25 nationally-ranked program. During his tenure, 14 Warriors were named all-conference and 29 received all-academic.

"I am thankful, appreciating Coach Harkins' invitation, for the opportunity to join the Nicholls Colonels family," Rieger said. "The tennis program offers an amazing experience to work with great student-athletes in our pursuit of excellence."

Rieger graduated with a degree in English from Wabash College and went on to earn a Master's of Arts from Earlham College.