Alden Resigns to take Head Position at Washburn

by Gene Cassell, Washburn Sports Information Director

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn Director of Athletics Loren Ferré has announced the hiring of Dave Alden as the Ichabod and Lady Blues tennis coach for the 2008-09 season. Alden replaces Jennifer Hastert, who is resigning at the end of the current season as she and her husband are expecting their second child this summer. Alden is currently the head coach at Metro State in Denver and led the Roadrunners to the Rocky Mountain Conference men's tournament championship this season while sharing the regular season crown en route to RMAC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in five seasons.

"We're excited to have Dave lead our tennis program," Ferré said. "He's had a very successful program at Metro State and we're looking forward to him continuing the winning tradition coach Hastert has built. He will be a great fit for our department."

Alden has led his men's team to three consecutive NCAA Regional Tournaments and back-to-back RMAC Tournament championships. In five seasons as the Roadrunners head coach, Alden has been named the RMAC's coach of the year twice, coached two players of the year, one freshman of the year and has had 28 men's players earn all-conference honors and

11 women's players earn all-conference honors.

"I am very excited and am looking forward to continuing the tradition of excellence that Coach Hastert has built at Washburn," Alden said. "I would like to thank Athletic Director Ferré for giving me this great opportunity. My family and I look forward to joining the Washburn community."

Prior to coming to Metro State, Alden served as one of three full-time staff tennis professionals at Regency Sport and Health in McLean, Va.

While in Virginia, Alden served as a coach for both the junior and adult United States Tennis Association (USTA) teams and as a coach for top-ranked juniors in the Mid-Atlantic region. He was also an assistant director and co-founder of the Hank Harris Tennis Academy in Alexandria, Va. While at Hank Harris, Alden coached several top-ranked juniors in the area, and also developed all of the marketing materials for the academy.

Before moving to Virginia, Alden served as a staff professional and adult program director at the Fort Collins Indoor Tennis Center in Fort Collins, Colo., from 1992-95. While in Fort Collins, Alden was instrumental in developing a program for top-ranked juniors in the Northern Colorado area and coached USTA junior and adult teams throughout his tenure. Furthermore, he served as assistant tournament director for numerous USTA sanctioned tournaments and served on a committee that designed four additional outdoor tennis courts at the facility. Prior to his years at the Fort Collins Indoor Center, Alden served one year as an assistant tennis professional at the Fort Collins Country Club, while he began his coaching career as an assistant at Poudre High School in Fort Collins. In addition to his duties as an assistant varsity coach, he also headed up the men's and women's junior varsity programs.

Throughout his career, Alden has served as a USTA umpire, NTRP Tennis Rater, Wilson Professional Advisory staff member and has also been on the ITA women's regional ranking committee. He is currently on the NCAA men's regional ranking committee.

Alden earned a bachelor's degree in sport industry operations with a minor in marketing from Metro State in December 2004. In addition to his coaching duties for the Roadrunners, Alden is an assistant athletic director for marketing in the athletics department. He handles all of the marketing for the department, runs the corporate sponsor program and is the event coordinator for Metro State's summer concert series. Alden served as the tournament director for the first ever Denver area collegiate wheelchair tournament.

Alden and his wife, Megan, have two daughters, Alexa (6) and Nadia (3).