Olga Elkin has been hired as the women’s tennis head coach at Murray State University.
Elkin joins MSU after spending the last two seasons at Kennesaw State.
She spent a short period of time in the 2010-11 season as interim head coach at Kennesaw State and also served as graduate assistant. She was also a graduate assistant in the 2011-12 season. This two-year period was a time of tremendous improvement at Kennesaw State that saw the Owls develop their first nationally ranked student athlete (Mackenzie Swindall) and the Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year (Virgini Stein). Last spring Kennesaw State put four players on the All-Atlantic Sun Team.
“I’m honored and blessed to have the opportunity that I’ve been given at Murray State,” Elkin said. “I’m glad to be joining the Murray State family.”
“We’re extremely excited to have Olga join our staff,” MSU senior women administrator and head women’s golf coach Velvet Milkman said. “She is an up and coming coach and we feel very fortunate that she has chosen to be a Racer. Olga has a tremendous passion to coach and make a difference in the lives of student athletes both on and off the court.”
“I’m really excited that Olga has agreed to become our new women’s tennis coach,” MSU athletics director Allen Ward said. “She is well prepared after having played at the highest level and brings an enthusiasm and desire to win that our student athletes will fully embrace. It’s a really good day for our women’s tennis program.”
Elkin started her career as a student athlete at Wichita State (2006-08) where she was a Missouri Valley Conference singles champion as she led her team at WSU to a No. 16 ranking in NCAA D-I. Elkin finished her collegiate career at West Virginia (2008-10) where she earned a degree in sport management. She was also named to the Big East Academic All-Star Team twice.
Elkin earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State in 2012. She also coached at the Nebraska Tennis Academy in Lincoln, Neb., in the summers of 2007-09 and Camp Micah in Bridgeton, Maine, in 2011.
“I’m honored to come to a tradition-rich tennis program like Murray State,” Elkin said. “I’d like to thank Mr. Ward and the committee for this opportunity. I’m grateful for Jeff Kutac who prepared me to be a head coach while I was at Kennesaw State.” Published in The WCP 7.3.12