NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Director of Athletics Dr. Jeri Beggs announced on Wednesday that Illinois State women's tennis head coach Maja Kovacek will serve in that same role with the men's tennis program effective immediately. Kovacek takes over as head coach of the men's program, following the departure of Mark Klysner who took the head coaching role at Tennessee Tech.

"Maja has brought a winning mentality to our women's tennis program over the last decade plus and has returned it to the top of the Valley with her steady leadership," Beggs said. "As a three-time coach of the year and someone who has watched her teams succeed on and off the court, we believe Maja is the perfect fit to mentor our men's tennis program and help a group of talented returning student-athletes achieve at high levels in the Summit League and beyond." 

Kovacek, a three-time MVC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year, begins her 12th season as the head coach of the program in 2025-26. She holds a 146-88 dual match mark and a 48-17 record in Missouri Valley Conference play in her time at Illinois State.

"I'd like to thank Dr. Jeri Beggs and Scott Renfro for the opportunity to lead the men's program and for the support they have shown me during my time here at ISU," Kovacek said. "I'm excited to work with a great group of young men as l continue to do my best to give all my student-athletes the best experience on and off the court."

Kovacek has returned the ISU women's tennis program to the top of the MVC, having led the Redbirds to three regular season titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances and a 41-5 record in league play over the past eight seasons. Kovacek led the Redbirds to an 8-0 undefeated mark during the 2023 conference regular season and the No. 1 seed in the MVC Championship, earning her MVC Coach of the Year honors for the third time in four seasons. The regular-season championship was the third in five seasons for the Redbirds, who took home three of the six singles spots on the 2023 MVC All-Conference team (including league Freshman of the Year honors), as well as two of the three All-MVC doubles pairings.

She also led the Redbirds to a title in the 2021-22 season, following a 4-1 mark in MVC play with the lone loss coming on the road to Drake. ISU brought home five All-MVC honors following the regular season and punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship after a thrilling 4-3 win over No. 1 seed and host Drake in the finals of the MVC Championship. 

After the 2019-20 season was abruptly cut short, Kovacek and the Redbirds team put together a 17-8 overall record and earned the MVC regular-season title during the 2020-21 season, which earned Kovacek MVC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year honors for the second time in as many seasons. Just as she did in 2019 when she was named MVC Coach of the Year, Kovacek led the Redbirds to an undefeated 5-0 mark during the 2021 regular season which earned ISU the No. 1 spot in the MVC Championship.

She led the Redbirds to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years during the 2018-19 campaign, earning the automatic bid after downing Stony Brook in a thrilling 4-3 match to clinch the MVC Tournament Title. The Redbirds held an unblemished conference record of 5-0, claiming the regular season MVC title as well.

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