Andy Lewis will start his seventh season as the head coach of Grace's men's tennis team in the fall of 2024.
He has helped establish Grace at the national level for both the NAIA and NCCAA. He guided Grace to back-to-back NCCAA national championships in 2021 and 2022 and was named the NCCAA National Coach of the Year twice for those accomplishments. Additionally, the Lancers have been mainstays in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
In 2021, Grace reached the NAIA National Championships for the first time as a full team since 1988. The Lancers won their initial game in the tournament against No. 21 Southeastern before falling to the eventual national champion.
In 2022-23, Grace returned to the NAIA National Championships. The Lancers punched their ticket by winning the Crossroads League regular season and postseason tournament during the fall season. Grace finished the '22-23 campaign with 22 wins, including eight wins over teams ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA poll. Lewis was named the 2022 Crossroads League Coach of the Year as a result.
The Lancers' topped that feat during the 2023-24 campaign. Grace went 22-6 and stayed in the NAIA Top 25 for the full season. They repeated as champions of the Crossroads League (both regular season and postseason tournaments) and advanced to the NAIA Secnod Round. Grace had two players reach NAIA All-American status.
Lewis is a Grace graduate and a standout Lancer tennis player. He was a two-time NAIA national qualifier with the Lancers and won multiple conference awards.
He played at Grace from 1985-89, earning All-Conference accolades each year. In his final two years, he won three district crowns in singles and doubles to advance to the NAIA National Championships.
He also won a pair of conference titles as a junior and senior.
“I was very lucky to learn from Mike Grill as my tennis coach, and I would like to continue the impact that he had on Grace’s program,” Lewis said. “I want to bring out the best in each of our players both on and off the court.”
Lewis served as the tennis coach at Warsaw from 1993-2004. He helped the Tigers win 13 individual sectional championships, 2 team region championships and 7 individual regional crowns.
He helped lead a doubles’ team to a third-place finish in the state and was also voted as the Northern Lakes Conference Coach of the Year.
“Andy has a great tennis background both with the Grace program and within the community. His deep connections in the community will benefit our program tremendously. He has a strong commitment to the mission of Grace College, and his tennis expertise will benefit our student-athletes,” said Grace Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe.
Lewis served as an assistant tennis professional from 1981-89 at Lakewood Racquet Club in Lexington, Ohio.
He played postgraduate in the United States Tennis Association for a decade. He helped his 4.5 men’s team win a state, region and national championship in 2015. He has also been a part of two additional state and regional winning teams in the USTA.
