For the first time since the program was reinstated at Hillsdale College in 2011, the Chargers women's tennis team will have a new leader for the upcoming 2022-23 school year.
Current head coach Nikki Walbright announced her intention to step aside from leading the program in June, as soon as a new head coach for the program could be hired. The move comes after a tremendously successful 11-year run for Walbright, building Chargers women's tennis from an idea on paper to a championship-winning program and a force to be reckoned with in the Midwest Region.
While Walbright will no longer be coaching the women's tennis team, she will remain with the Hillsdale College athletic department as an Assistant Athletic Director and Senior Woman's Administrator.
Over more than a decade as head coach, Walbright laid a rock-solid foundation for the rebirth of the Hillsdale College women's tennis program, and helped lead the team on a quick ascent to championship contention.
Arriving at Hillsdale with four years of experience as an assistant at Division I Florida Atlantic University, Walbright took over a program that had just restarted when she arrived, and by year two was leading the program to a 14-5 record and a top four finish in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Over the next nine seasons, the Chargers continued to rise under Walbright's watch. Switching to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference from the GLIAC in the fall of 2017, Hillsdale won its first conference title since 1983 in its first season as a member in 2018, then won its first repeat title in 2019, as well as three consecutive G-MAC Tournament titles.
During her time at Hillsdale, Walbright was named conference Coach of the Year three times (2012, 2018, 2019), coached two G-MAC Players of the year in Halle Hyman and Sarah Hackman, and coached 14 different All-Conference honorees, including six first-team All-Conference players.
Walbright steps away from coaching with a 98-88 match record, and is the second winningest coach in program history.
Perhaps her most important legacy will be that she leaves behind a strong, highly-regarded and extremely successful program with a reputation for sportsmanship and character for the next coach who steps into the role – a massive step up for a Charger program that was starting from scratch when she took the job 11 years ago.