Release courtesy of Haverford Athletic Communications
HAVERFORD, Pa. - Haverford College Interim Director of Athletics Michael Vienna has announced the hiring of Eric Spangler as Head Men's Tennis Coach. Spangler joins the Fords after spending the last three seasons at Goucher College in Baltimore. Spangler earned 2019 Landmark Conference Coach of the Year honors after guiding Goucher to the Landmark Conference regular season and tournament titles.
"I'd like to thank the search committee and Mike Vienna for their belief in my abilities to develop the men's tennis program and join the impressive legacy of Haverford Athletics. Brendan Kincaid has done an outstanding job with the team and I am excited to be carrying on the growth of the program," stated Spangler. "My goal is to create an environment for the student-athletes to achieve excellence on and off the court. I can't wait to get started."
"We are excited to welcome Coach Spangler to Haverford," said Vienna. "Eric stood out from the field after an extremely competitive national search. Throughout the process, he showed a comprehensive understanding of the unique student-athlete experience at Haverford College, as well as a commitment to maintaining a culture of excellence, on and off the court."
During his tenure at Goucher, Spangler led the Gophers to their first two victories over nationally ranked opponents in 15 seasons. The squad reached the national tournament in 2019, picking up an NCAA First Round win over Baruch. He also coached the 2019 Landmark Conference Player of the Year, Tetsuya Ota, while two other Gophers were named to the All-Landmark conference teams following that memorable season.
Prior to taking the helm of the Goucher program, Spangler served as the associate head coach of the men's tennis program and the assistant head coach of the women's tennis program at his alma mater Salisbury for two seasons. His squads made appearances in the Capital Athletic Conference semifinals and he coached multiple nationally-ranked singles and doubles players in that capacity.
Spangler has also served as a coach at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland since 2013. During his time at the JTCC, he has coached elite level youth and adult tennis players as well as those who have gone on to collegiate and professional tennis careers. He designed and instructed workouts for tennis players of all levels in both individual and group settings, and provided sport psychology training sessions.
As a player for the Sea Gulls, Spangler spent four years under long-time head coach Randy Halfpap. He made NCAA tournament appearances for both singles and doubles, and is the winningest singles player in the history of the program. He was ranked as one of the top 20 singles players in the nation during his tenure, and was a part of a top-25 doubles pairing. Spangler earned All-America honors following the 2016 campaign, becoming just the second player in program history to earn that accolade for singles.
Spangler earned a Bachelor's of Exercise Science in May of 2016 and a Master's of Applied Physiology in December of 2018, both from Salisbury University. He is a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, earning that certification in 2018.