The Lincoln Memorial University athletic department announced the appointment of Marc Walters to lead its men’s and women’s tennis programs on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. With a reputation for successfully rebuilding programs, Walters has a quarter-century of collegiate head coaching experience and owns 666 wins across NCAA Divisions I and II in his career, which ranks him among the elite in Division II.
His second season, which was affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic at various points, saw the men's team improve to 7-10 (6-6 SAC) and earn the sixth seed in the 2021 South Atlantic Conference postseason tournament, while the women finished 6-7 (5-4 SAC) to tie for sixth in the regular season. Both teams put up an excellent fight in their first-round losses as each defeat came to the eventual tournament champion (Tusculum men, Wingate women).
Mid-year addition Valentina Ascarrunz enjoyed an outstanding debut season on the women's side, as she lost just once in singles all spring. Her performance earned her second-team all-conference honors in singles and the runner-up distinction in conference Freshman of the Year voting.
On the men's side, graduate student Jake Tuchmann earned the first All-SAC honors of his career as he was named honorable mention in singles and teamed with fellow senior Iker Moure to earn honorable mention honors in doubles.
In his first season at the helm, which was cut short due to COVID-19, Walters led the women's team to a 10-2 (2-0 SAC) record and the men's team to a 4-8 (2-0 SAC) record. Senior Kiersten Waugh was named an Academic All-American, just the second in the history of the women's tennis program.
Both of his 2020 LMU teams received ITA All-Academic Team honors and boasted no fewer than 15 ITA Scholar-Athletes (3.5+ GPA), marking the 39
th time out of 44 teams that have earned this award under Walters’ guidance. His women’s team turned in a 3.73 GPA in 2020 (tops among all LMU Athletic teams), while the men compiled a 3.56 GPA.
Walters, a Morgantown, W. Va. Native, has 25 years of head coaching experience. He previously built nationally ranked programs at West Virginia Wesleyan, Barton College, and the University of Nebraska at Kearney in Division II. He also returned home to Morgantown and served as the head women’s coach at Division I West Virginia University from 2006-2010, leading his 2010 team to a program best #7 Atlantic Regional ranking.
Walters brings a 666-355 (.652) career coaching record into the fall of 2021. He has served on the NCAA and ITA regional committees, the ITA Awards Committee, and the ITA National Rankings committee. He has directed 5 ITA championship events, including the 2018 and 2019 Men’s Atlantic regional in Charleston, WV.Va. and the Southeast Regionals in Wilson, N.C. During his tenure in DI and DII, he has amassed 12 DII NCAA regional appearances, a Sweet 16, and eleven conference titles between the men’s and women’s programs over his career.
A 1987 graduate of Fairmont State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree, Walters received his Master of Science degree in sport administration and athletic coaching from West Virginia in 1992.
He has two sons, Jameson (17) and Jarrett (15) and resides in Harrogate.
| Years |
School |
Division | Men/Women |
Won-Loss |
Pct. |
NCAA Postseason (Men/Women) |
| 1994-99 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
Div. II | M/W |
155-78 |
.665 |
1997 (Men) | 1998 (Men) | 1998 (Women) |
| 1999-06 |
Barton College |
Div. II | M/W |
252-106 |
.703 |
2001 (Men) | 2004 (Women) |
| 2006-10 |
West Virginia |
Div. I | W |
54-46 |
.540 |
None |
| 2013-19 |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
Div. II | M/W |
178-98 |
.644 |
2013-19 (Men) |
| 2020-21 |
Lincoln Memorial |
Div. II | M/W |
27-27 |
.500 |
None |
| Totals |
25 Years |
|
666-355 |
.652 |
12 NCAA Tournaments, 11 Conference Titles |
