Men’s Tennis Announces the Hiring of Kyle Seelig as Assistant Coach
9/7/2023 2:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty men's tennis team has hired Kyle Seelig as its next assistant coach, the team announced Thursday. Seelig comes to Liberty after playing for Ohio State for six seasons (2015-20), helping the team to six straight Big 10 titles, a 2018 NCAA Team Tournament final, a 2019 ITA National Indoor and a team No. 1 ranking.
"It is an honor to welcome Kyle Seelig, and his wife Jessica Failla, to the Liberty Tennis family. Kyle has tremendous relational skills, leadership ability and passion for competing at the highest level," Liberty Head Coach Derek Schwandt said.
"His work ethic, knowledge of the game, experience at the top of college tennis, and his journey to a No. 349 ATP Singles ranking will be weapons for our team," said Schwandt. "I'm most excited about Kyle's passion for the mission of Liberty, Training Champions for Christ."
The two-time team captain at Ohio State led the team to five NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Final Four in 2016. Seelig performed at a high level in both singles and doubles, achieving a high singles ranking of No. 13 and a No. 3 doubles ranking. Seelig collected 127 career singles wins over his time with Ohio State. Seelig was selected to two All-Big Ten first teams and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team in 2019.
In 2019, Seelig put together his best collegiate season, going 18-0 in both singles and doubles, a mark that earned him a spot competing in the NCAA Singles Championship that season.
Seelig excelled in the classroom as well as the courts, achieving a 3.62 GPA. Seelig was a five-time Ohio State Scholar Athlete, a four-time ITA Scholar Athlete, a four-time All-Academic Big Ten selection and was selected as an ITA Distinguished Scholar.
As a professional, Seelig achieved a high singles ITA ranking of No. 349 (March 20, 2023) and a No. 371 doubles ranking.
"I'm super excited to be joining Liberty University! The combination of athletics and faith is really important to me so I can't wait to get these guys to work hard and maximize their potential," Seelig said.
"Derek (Schwandt) and I are excited for where the program is going and I'm just really blessed and excited to be here."
Seelig gave his time to the community while at Ohio State. His coaches noted they were most proud of his dedication to volunteer work and mission trips. Seelig made three mission trips while a part of the program to Haiti, Zimbabwe and the Dominican Republic. His coaches have also noted his efforts in the Columbus area, volunteering his time at the Columbus Dream Center and Buddy Up Tennis. Seelig helped to raise $15,000 for inner-city children in Philadelphia so they could receive tennis lessons during the Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the U.S. Open.
A Hatfield, Pa. native, Seelig comes to Lynchburg with his wife, Jessica Failla-Seelig, who will join the Liberty women's tennis team as an assistant coach. Failla-Seelig helped lead Pepperdine to a 2021 NCAA Tournament final appearance while becoming an ITA All-American the same year. During her time with the program, she was a two-time Pepperdine Scholar Athlete (2019, 2020) and a two-time WCC All-Academic honorable mention (2019, 2020).
"It is an honor to welcome Kyle Seelig, and his wife Jessica Failla, to the Liberty Tennis family. Kyle has tremendous relational skills, leadership ability and passion for competing at the highest level," Liberty Head Coach Derek Schwandt said.
"His work ethic, knowledge of the game, experience at the top of college tennis, and his journey to a No. 349 ATP Singles ranking will be weapons for our team," said Schwandt. "I'm most excited about Kyle's passion for the mission of Liberty, Training Champions for Christ."
The two-time team captain at Ohio State led the team to five NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Final Four in 2016. Seelig performed at a high level in both singles and doubles, achieving a high singles ranking of No. 13 and a No. 3 doubles ranking. Seelig collected 127 career singles wins over his time with Ohio State. Seelig was selected to two All-Big Ten first teams and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team in 2019.
In 2019, Seelig put together his best collegiate season, going 18-0 in both singles and doubles, a mark that earned him a spot competing in the NCAA Singles Championship that season.
Seelig excelled in the classroom as well as the courts, achieving a 3.62 GPA. Seelig was a five-time Ohio State Scholar Athlete, a four-time ITA Scholar Athlete, a four-time All-Academic Big Ten selection and was selected as an ITA Distinguished Scholar.
As a professional, Seelig achieved a high singles ITA ranking of No. 349 (March 20, 2023) and a No. 371 doubles ranking.
"I'm super excited to be joining Liberty University! The combination of athletics and faith is really important to me so I can't wait to get these guys to work hard and maximize their potential," Seelig said.
"Derek (Schwandt) and I are excited for where the program is going and I'm just really blessed and excited to be here."
Seelig gave his time to the community while at Ohio State. His coaches noted they were most proud of his dedication to volunteer work and mission trips. Seelig made three mission trips while a part of the program to Haiti, Zimbabwe and the Dominican Republic. His coaches have also noted his efforts in the Columbus area, volunteering his time at the Columbus Dream Center and Buddy Up Tennis. Seelig helped to raise $15,000 for inner-city children in Philadelphia so they could receive tennis lessons during the Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the U.S. Open.
A Hatfield, Pa. native, Seelig comes to Lynchburg with his wife, Jessica Failla-Seelig, who will join the Liberty women's tennis team as an assistant coach. Failla-Seelig helped lead Pepperdine to a 2021 NCAA Tournament final appearance while becoming an ITA All-American the same year. During her time with the program, she was a two-time Pepperdine Scholar Athlete (2019, 2020) and a two-time WCC All-Academic honorable mention (2019, 2020).
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