GEORGETOWN, TEXAS - With former Southwestern University Head Tennis Coach Billy Porter accepting the role of Associate Director of Athletics for Internal Operations, a nationwide search began for the next leader of the Men's and Women's Tennis program. In just a few short weeks, the Pirates have found their next dual program Head Coach.
Nyssa Peele, a native of Central Texas, has accepted her offer to head both of the programs. After a stint with Divison I University of Rhode Island, where she was an All-Conference player with the Rams, Peele came back to Central Texas and finished out her collegiate Tennis career at Texas State University in San Marcos. Peele was an accomplished Tennis player in her time with the Bobcats, being named the team captain in her senior year, amassing a 16-1 record in singles play, and earning First Team All-Southland Conference honors. Immediately following her playing career, she stayed on as an assistant coach for the Bobcats.
Coach Peele's background extends far beyond Tennis, having experience both in fine arts and the corporate business realm. As a tennis coach, Peele served as an assistant to the Trinity Tigers Women's tennis program in 2017, helping oversee the Tigers win a SCAC Conference Championship as well as an NCAA Regional Tournament appearance. Peele then moved to national powerhouse, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, where she helped guide the Athenas to a National Championship in 2018. Peele comes to Southwestern from her most recent stop at Cal Lutheran, operating as the assistant coach of both the Men's and Women's teams.
Billy Porter, who led the search committee for the position, expressed his satisfaction with the hiring of Coach Peele.
"We are excited for Nyssa Peele to join us. As a native Texan, she has very strong in-state ties that will go a long way in recruiting. While she played Division I tennis, her coaching background is in Division III, and she fully understands and embraces the student-athlete experience. Having won a National Championship in 2018 as an assistant coach, we are confident that she will be able to use that experience and help take our program to the next level," says Billy Porter.
Peele will be taking over both a Pirate men's and women's tennis program that has been consistently ranked among the top programs in the country; both teams have reached as high as number ten in the national rankings. Southwestern Tennis has produced over a dozen All-Americans, NCAA Appearances for the third and quarterfinal rounds for the men and women, respectively, and a women's tennis program's first-ever conference championship in 2021.
"I am thrilled to be heading back to my home in Central Texas! I am grateful for this opportunity to lead the Southwestern men's and women's tennis programs. This is a talented group, and I am excited to take the Pirates to the next level. Thank you to Ken Ralph and Billy Porter for the opportunity to join the Southwestern University Athletics family. Go Pirates!"
