Sophia Geier Named Women's Tennis Head Coach
10/2/2024 11:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh Athletics has announced the hiring of Sophia Geier as head coach of the Mountain Hawks' women's tennis program. Geier, a former two-time MAC Player of the Year, comes to Lehigh after spending the 2023-24 season as an assistant coach at Brown University.
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"We're very excited to name Sophia Geier as our next head women's tennis coach," said Sue Troyan, Lehigh's Deputy Director of Athletics. "Sophia brings with her an outstanding collegiate playing career, coupled with invaluable coaching experience from her time as an assistant coach at Brown University and Kenyon College. She distinguished herself in our search process as an educator who is deeply committed to fostering academic achievement, personal development, and competitive excellence.Â
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"Sophia's passion for developing young women and creating an environment that supports both athletic and academic growth makes her an ideal fit for our program. Her love for tennis, combined with her competitive drive, will undoubtedly continue to strengthen the culture and success of our women's tennis team."
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In her lone full season at Brown, the Bears won 10 matches and posted an impressive 8-2 home record. Prior to moving to Brown, Geier spent two seasons as the head assistant coach for both the men's and women's programs at Kenyon College in Ohio. In 2023, Geier was on staff for a program that won North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. Kenyon's coaching staff was named NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Geier mentored a NCAC Player of the Year, a singles player that reached the final four and a doubles team that reached the elite eight along with a team that reached the Sweet Sixteen.
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"I am honored to have the opportunity to be the next leader of the Lehigh women's tennis program," Geier said. "I can't wait to be a Mountain Hawk and I am excited to continue to push our program to new heights. Together, we can establish a championship culture and achieve tremendous success on the court and in the classroom."
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Geier played collegiately at the University of Akron, where she competed in the No. 1 singles position and was recognized as the MAC Player of the Year in both 2017 and 2019. She was a four-time letterwinner, a three-time team captain, a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete award winner and a two-time team MVP.Â
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A native of Burgebrach, Germany, Geier graduated from Akron in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in sports management. She added a master's of business administration in 2020 while serving as a graduate assistant at Akron during the 2019-20 campaign.
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After earning her MBA from Akron, Geier worked for a year at Cliff Drysdale Tennis in New Braunfels, Texas. In March of 2021, she moved on to The Club at Glenmore in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she served as a Sports Program Manager for junior tennis.
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"I would like to thank Kristen Brannick, Sue Troyan and the entire search committee for the opportunity to build and propel this program forward in the Patriot League," Geier said. "I would also like to take a minute to thank all my former coaches and co-workers who have helped prepare me for this opportunity, especially coach Lucie (Schmidhauser) for teaching and preparing me to take on this new challenge through her guidance and mentorship."
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Geier takes over a Lehigh team that tied a program record with 14 victories last season. The Mountain Hawks reached the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2018.
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"We're very excited to name Sophia Geier as our next head women's tennis coach," said Sue Troyan, Lehigh's Deputy Director of Athletics. "Sophia brings with her an outstanding collegiate playing career, coupled with invaluable coaching experience from her time as an assistant coach at Brown University and Kenyon College. She distinguished herself in our search process as an educator who is deeply committed to fostering academic achievement, personal development, and competitive excellence.Â
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"Sophia's passion for developing young women and creating an environment that supports both athletic and academic growth makes her an ideal fit for our program. Her love for tennis, combined with her competitive drive, will undoubtedly continue to strengthen the culture and success of our women's tennis team."
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In her lone full season at Brown, the Bears won 10 matches and posted an impressive 8-2 home record. Prior to moving to Brown, Geier spent two seasons as the head assistant coach for both the men's and women's programs at Kenyon College in Ohio. In 2023, Geier was on staff for a program that won North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. Kenyon's coaching staff was named NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year. Geier mentored a NCAC Player of the Year, a singles player that reached the final four and a doubles team that reached the elite eight along with a team that reached the Sweet Sixteen.
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"I am honored to have the opportunity to be the next leader of the Lehigh women's tennis program," Geier said. "I can't wait to be a Mountain Hawk and I am excited to continue to push our program to new heights. Together, we can establish a championship culture and achieve tremendous success on the court and in the classroom."
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Geier played collegiately at the University of Akron, where she competed in the No. 1 singles position and was recognized as the MAC Player of the Year in both 2017 and 2019. She was a four-time letterwinner, a three-time team captain, a three-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete award winner and a two-time team MVP.Â
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A native of Burgebrach, Germany, Geier graduated from Akron in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in sports management. She added a master's of business administration in 2020 while serving as a graduate assistant at Akron during the 2019-20 campaign.
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After earning her MBA from Akron, Geier worked for a year at Cliff Drysdale Tennis in New Braunfels, Texas. In March of 2021, she moved on to The Club at Glenmore in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she served as a Sports Program Manager for junior tennis.
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"I would like to thank Kristen Brannick, Sue Troyan and the entire search committee for the opportunity to build and propel this program forward in the Patriot League," Geier said. "I would also like to take a minute to thank all my former coaches and co-workers who have helped prepare me for this opportunity, especially coach Lucie (Schmidhauser) for teaching and preparing me to take on this new challenge through her guidance and mentorship."
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Geier takes over a Lehigh team that tied a program record with 14 victories last season. The Mountain Hawks reached the semifinals of the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2018.
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