Rob Oertel was one of many keys to the Blue Devils' domination of WSUC tennis during the mid-1980s. Oertel captured the WSUC No. 1 singles title in 1985, the No. 3 title in 1984 and the No. 1 doubles championship in 1986. Oertel was named an NCAA Division III All-American in both singles and doubles in 1986. The Blue Devils won the conference championship in each of Oertel's four years, and Oertel was the team captain in 1985 and '86. Oertel coached the Blue Devils in 1989 and is currently entering his seventh year as the men's coach at NCAA Division I Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., where he was named the Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year in 1995 after finishing second in conference play.
Oertel was named to the WIAC All-Time Men's Tennis Team in 2011 as the WIAC marks its centennial.
The following bio is from the 2010-11 Eastern Kentucky University tennis media guide. Oertel has been at Eastern Kentucky since 2001-02.
Eastern Kentucky University...Head Coach both Men and Women...and it is currently my 11th season (2011-12). My first year here was the 2001-02 school year. I have taken teams the last three years to the NCAA Tournament. My women went in 2009, and the men have gone back-to-back in 2010 and 2011. We won the conference tournament in those years...and received the automatic bid.
I have been Ohio Valley Conference Men's Coach of the Year 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. I was Missouri Valley Men's Coach of the year in 1995.
* 2010, 2009, 2007 OVC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year
* 1995 MVC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year
Rob Oertel is entering his 10th season as the head coach for both the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Eastern Kentucky. The last few seasons have been memorable ones for the Colonels as the EKU men earned a berth in the 2010 NCAA championships while the women advanced to the NCAAs in 2009.
In his nine years at EKU, Oertel has taken the Colonels from the cellar of the OVC to a consistent contender in the season-ending OVC tournament. He has coached 23 All-OVC players, three OVC Players of the Year, two Academic All-Americans, one OVC Freshman of the Year and one OVC Sportsmanship Award winner while in charge of the Eastern program.
Oertel has 20 years experience as a Division I head coach after previously serving four years at Denver and seven at Indiana State. He handled both the men’s and women’s programs at Indiana State during the 1989-90 season as well as at Denver in the 1996-97 campaign and spring of 1999.
“One of my primary goals when I took this position was to raise this program to national respectability,” Oertel said. “I can say with great pride that we are now at that level. I hope we can keep building on our achievements.”
The University of Denver was a Division II program when Oertel took the helm in 1996. By his fourth season, he lifted the Pioneers to a very competitive status at the Division I level with an overall record of 16-8.
Before joining the Pioneer staff at Denver, Oertel recorded an overall record of 95-73 with the Indiana State men’s tennis team. During the 1994-95 season, Oertel guided the Sycamores to a regular season Missouri Valley Conference co-championship and second-place finish in the conference tournament.
Oertel earned the 1995 MVC Coach of the Year award as ISU finished 18-9 overall with key victories over Tulsa, Purdue, Kansas and Marquette. In addition, Indiana State won its final 12 regular season dual matches to earn a berth in the NCAA team championships. The Sycamores advanced to the final 24 in the 1995 NCAA tournament before falling to Arizona State.
A native of West Allis, Wis., (West Allis Central High School) Oertel graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 1986 with a degree in business administration. In 1988, he began his coaching career at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Monroe, Mich., as the assistant coach. Next, he assumed the head coaching reins at his alma mater, Wisconsin-Stout, before moving to Indiana State.
In 1991, he earned his master’s of science degree from Indiana State in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration. Oertel has further enhanced his extensive coaching experience by working with players of all ages as a tennis pro in the Fiji Islands, Michigan and Wisconsin.
As a collegiate tennis player, Oertel was one of the most decorated athletes to ever play for the Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils. He became the first tennis player in Blue Devil history to earn All-American honors while also playing on four consecutive conference championship teams.
Oertel’s NCAA Division III national ranking peaked at No. 13 in singles and No. 4 in doubles during his senior campaign. In 1996, Oertel was inducted into the Wisconsin-Stout Athletics Hall of Fame.
Oertel is a native of West Allis, Wis., and graduated from West Allis Central High School.
Eastern Kentucky Tennis Media GuideWSUC Men's Tennis Championships List
