BEREA, Ohio – For the past 31 seasons, the Baldwin Wallace University men's tennis team has been under the direction of Head Coach Brian Rector '89 and, heading into the 2020-21 season, the program will have the assistance of three familiar faces in alumni Zach Apperson '10, Roger Boyer '19 and Nathan Katz '17.
In his 31 seasons, Rector has built a program around academics, family and, last but not least, winning. For those reasons and many more, his former student-athletes stay engaged with the program and, as is the case with Apperson, Boyer and Katz, many come back and assist him in coaching the next group of young men that will leave a lasting impact on BW and the men's tennis program.
Rector, who is the all-time winningest coach in BW history as well as the Ohio Athletic Conference and all of Ohio Division III institutions, has a career record of 548-117 and an impressive 209-52 mark in the OAC. He has coached teams to three OAC Regular Season titles and four OAC Tournament championships while mentoring five OAC Players of the Year. Despite all of his achievements on the court, Rector is most proud of the achievements that his student-athletes produce in the classroom as well as their success after graduation. He has mentored five College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans, countless Academic All-OAC players and nine teams in the last 10 seasons have been recognized as an Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team.
Apperson returns as the veteran assistant coach as he begins his fourth season. In addition to his coaching duties, he is a senior forecast and replenishment analyst for Dealer Tire, LLC. Apperson earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics with a minor in English literature. He was a Dean's Award and Leadership Award recipient and was named an Outstanding Interfraternity Council delegate. Apperson was a two-year letterwinner on the men's tennis team and served as the team captain of the men's racquetball team. In tennis, he had a career record of 14-6 in singles action and 12-1 in doubles play. After BW, Apperson earned a Master of Business Administration from Cleveland State University in 2013. He was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, which is the business honors society.
Boyer returns for his second season as an assistant coach. He currently works as a tennis instructor at Paramount Tennis Club alongside BW women's tennis coach and fellow alumnus Dean Morse '03, who is the head pro and director of junior programs. He also works in partnership as a coach for the Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camp program, which hosts junior tennis camps around the U.S. Boyer earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration and sport management. He was a two-time Academic All-OAC selection, Dean's List student and Jacket Scholar. Boyer was a member of the Business Executives Club, Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, College Republicans, Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, Sport Management Club and Student Athlete Advisory Committee. On the court, he was a two-year letterwinner and posted a career-record of 31-17 in singles action and 33-21 in doubles play.
Katz is the newest addition to the coaching staff as he begins his first season. He currently is working on his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine Cleveland. Katz earned a Bachelor of Science in public health with a minor in biology. He was a three-time Academic All-OAC selection, a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete, Dean's List student and Jacket Scholar. Katz was a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society and the National College Athlete Honor Society. He also served as the Student Athlete Advisory Committee Vice President for two years. On the court, Katz was a four-year letterwinner, a two-time OAC Player of the Week and an All-OAC honorable mention selection as a senior. He finished his career with a record of 69-35 in singles action and a 43-19 mark in doubles play. Katz ranks tied for 13th in school history with his 69 career singles victories.
