STATESBORO – Georgia Southern men's tennis coach Sander Koning will step down after seven years with the program for personal reasons, Director of Athletics Jared Benko announced today. Koning was named the 2017-18 Co-Coach of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference after defeating Georgia State for the first time in 15 years and then following it up with a victory over App State the next day.

"I am stepping down as head coach of the men's tennis program to be reunited with my family," Koning said. "I want to thank Tom Kleinlein for giving me the opportunity to be the head coach for the tennis program. I want to thank Brandy Clouse, Cathy Beene and Keith Roughton for their support and mentorship. I would also like to thank everybody who helped build the program and made it better: my assistants, the facility crew, our equipment managers and the student-athletes. My family and I will miss Statesboro and the relationships we have built. We had a great time here at Georgia Southern and I look forward to seeing all the programs thrive under Jared Benko's leadership. Hail Southern!"

In his seven seasons as head coach of the Eagles, Koning posted a 91-77 record and guided the Eagles to a perfect home record during the 2016-17 season, posting the first back-to-back winning season since 2000-01. In the Sun Belt tournament that same year, the Eagles defeated defending conference champions UT-Arlington to pick up their first Sun Belt tournament victory.

"I want to wish Sander the best of luck as he moves to South Carolina to be with his family," Benko said. "It's been a pleasure to watch his team compete on the court and represent this athletic department in the classroom and in the community. He's leaving this program in a better place than what he inherited and I thank him for representing Georgia Southern with class."

The athletics department will not make any further comments on the search for the next head coach until the process is complete.