Grove City College hired Nate Horner as head men's and women's tennis coach in August 2020. He enters his fifth season as the College's head tennis coach.
Horner has compiled a 94-39 overall record as head tennis coach at Grove City, directing the men's program to a 51-19 mark and the women's team to a 43-20 record over his first four seasons.
The Grove City women's team won the 2023-24 Presidents' Athletic Conference title by downing top-seeded Allegheny in the conference tournament championship match. The Wolverines advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the eighth time in program history. Grove City finished 14-6 overall, one win shy of the program's single-season record.Â
The men's program captured the Presidents' Athletic Conference title in both 2021 and 2022. Grove City made its third-ever trip to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in 2021, then returned to the national tournament in 2022. The 2022 team tied a program record with 16 victories.
Grove City finished as conference runner-up in 2023, posting a 13-6 overall record.Â
Horner joined the Wolverine athletic department after spending the 2021 season as head men's and women's tennis coach at New Mexico Military Institute, a military junior college in Roswell, N.M.
In spring 2021, Horner helped the N.M.M.I. men's team rank 23rd nationally in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Top 25. Standout Carlos Guiterrez earned NJCAA All-American honors following the 2021 season.
The N.M.M.I. women's team finished fourth in the final ITA NJCAA Region II rankings in the spring 2021 campaign.
"We are extremely proud of our rich history of men's and women's tennis at Grove City College," Grove City College athletic director Todd Gibson said of Horner upon his hiring. "As we searched for our new coach, we wanted to find someone who could take our programs to an even higher level of on-court prowess and compete on the national level while also ensuring that our program is rooted in a strong Christian culture.
"In Coach Horner, we feel that we have found this person. His tennis knowledge, positive attitude and strong Christian faith stood out to all who were part of the interview process. We look forward to seeing the tennis programs flourish under Nathaniel's leadership."
Horner's collegiate coaching career in June 2019 as a volunteer assistant men's and women's tennis coach at the University of Delaware. He also worked as the tennis professional at Delcastle Tennis Center in Wilmington, Del., from August 2019 through August 2020.
An All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference performer at Division III Bridgewater (Va.) College, Horner earned 79 total victories from 2016 to 2019.
Horner graduated from Bridgewater with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and religion. As a student-athlete at Bridgewater, Horner also worked extensively with Young Life in Staunton, Va., as a youth ministry leader.
