COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Ursinus Director of Athletics
Al Reiser announced Thursday the hiring of
Tim Koch as the new head Ursinus Men's and Women's Tennis Coach.
Koch comes to Ursinus after serving as the Men's and Women's Head Tennis Coach at Division 1 Rider University for the past two seasons.
"We are excited for Coach Koch to join the Ursinus Tennis program," Reiser said. "He has an infectious energy, and he's been a successful coach and recruiter at his previous stops. We look forward to him to bringing his energy and coaching expertise to the Bears."
Koch put his stamp on the Broncs tennis programs in a short time taking the Men's team to a historic back-to-back Conference Championship Finals, this past season winning the program's first-ever MAAC Conference Championship and earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament where they faced eventual NCAA Champion, University of Virginia. In year 1, the Men's playoff win was the first in program history along with the run to the Conference Final and NIT semi-final. In parallel, Koch led the Women's team into the MAAC Postseason Tournament as well for the first time in 15 years He landed five men's All-MAAC honors and one women's All-MAAC selection in 2026. The five were the most in a single season for the men's program which also included coaching the player of the year, doubles team of the year, and rookie of the year on the women's side. He also received votes for Coach of the Year this past season.
Before returning to his alma mater, Koch had a pair of successful tenures as Head coach at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur with the girls program and The Peddie School in New Jersey with the boys team. He drastically improved the trajectory of both programs during his time at each school with a personalized, high-energy, high-motivation approach, both on and off the court.
Koch replaces Frederika Tavani, who spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Ursinus Tennis teams.
"From the time I stepped on the Ursinus campus, it was clear to me that this was a special place," Koch said. "There was an immense amount of support and pride from the other coaches in helping me to see what it means to be a Bear, as well as from my interactions with the players. There is a true sense of community, hard work and commitment towards excellence. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and belief that Al and the rest of the Athletics Department have in my Leadership ability. I'm eager to model the success we achieved at Rider and lift the Bears to historic levels in years to come"
During his time as a member of the Rider Men's Tennis team, Koch went on to start all four years on the Rider Tennis Team, becoming Captain his senior season and playing as high as #1 Singles. He earned awards such as MAAC Player of the Week and was named each year to the MAAC All-Academic Team. On the academic side, Koch was a double major in Accounting and Computer Information Systems, was accepted into the Business Honors Program, served as Vice President of the Accounting Society and received an award as "Most likely to succeed in Public Accounting." He earned the academic distinction of being named Andrew J. Rider Scholar, an honor based competitively on a student's grade point average and is the highest academic honor a student can achieve while an undergraduate at Rider University. The top four seniors, three juniors, and three sophomores are selected from each of the University's colleges. Koch graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2002. He went on to work for some of the largest Global Pharmaceuticals in the world, supporting thousands of Clinical Trials for diseases such as Cancer, and rose to the level of Vice President. He also hosted his own Sports Talk Radio Show on 1490 WBCB.
A native of Bucks County, Koch made his way into Coaching at the age of 14 as part of the National Junior Tennis League (NJTL) of Philadelphia, earning "Junior Instructor of the Year" and the honor of playing doubles with Hall of Famer Chris Evert at Arthur Ashe Tennis Center in Philadelphia. As a player in NJTL, Koch made the All-City Team of Philadelphia and then went on start all 3 Years at Neshaminy High School, becoming Captain his senior season.
