Oct. 22—GRAND FORKS — A hall of fame-caliber coach is taking over the Grand Forks Central girls tennis program.
Tom Wynne has accepted the head coach position at Central, the school announced Tuesday morning.
Wynne is a member of four hall of fames: North Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame, North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, North Section Hall of Fame and UND Athletics Hall of Fame.
Wynne began his tennis career playing for Serge Gambucci at Grand Forks Central, graduating in 1973.
He then moved on to play collegiately at UND, winning a North Central Conference title during his junior year.
After his playing days, Wynne became a tennis coach in a career spanning more than 50 years.
Wynne coached tennis for the Grand Forks Park District and was the first employee at the GF Racquetball and Tennis Center.
He was also head coach of the UND men’s and women’s tennis teams for 35 years. He led both teams to many NCC titles before making the transition from Division II to Division I. Wynne retired in 2021 as the head coach.
“Tom’s experience of coaching tennis and his knowledge of the game is exceptional.” said Tony Bina, athletic director at Grand Forks Central. “We are very excited to welcome him on board as the new girls tennis coach. His passion for the sport will create a competitive learning environment and a fun atmosphere for the girls.”
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to coach high school girls tennis and to build participation numbers in the sport at Grand Forks Central,” Wynne said. “In turn, the challenge is to create a program that will be competitive, strong in numbers, winning championships, and girls having fun playing the sport.”
The Knights were 5-7 last spring under
Matt Fuka, who stepped down after 13 years as a Central coach.
