St. Paul, Minn. -- The University of St. Thomas has elevated Colby Carlson into the head coaching role for its women's tennis program.
Carlson replaces Lois Arterberry, who guided the program the last two years. Arterberry was hired this week as women's tennis head coach at the University of Minnesota.
Carlson has a 20-year coaching resume in the state of Minnesota. That includes the last two seasons as an assistant coach at St. Thomas, where Arterberry and he led the program's transition from Division III into Division I competition.
Prior to joining the Tommies, Carlson served 14 seasons as an assistant tennis coach at the College of St. Scholastica. Ten of those Saints teams won 15 or more matches, including two 20-win seasons.
St. Thomas Vice President and Director of Athletics Phil Esten said that Carlson will build upon the foundation that Arterberry helped establish.
"I first want to thank Lois for her contributions to Tommie Tennis and her deep care for our student-athletes while in St. Paul," Esten said. "She navigated our first two years at the Division I level, building a solid foundation for the future of the tennis program.
"I'm thrilled that Colby will assume the position as our new head coach, allowing for a smooth transition and continuity in a program that has made great progress. Colby is a seasoned coach who cares deeply about the student-athlete experience, and has played a critical role in setting the building blocks for our program. Our tennis program is in great hands as we look towards a bright future."
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue coaching at St. Thomas as the head coach at this prestigious university and to continue working with this outstanding group of young women," Carlson said. "Thank you to Phil Esten and the leadership staff for this opportunity. I look forward to working to continue the progress underway with Tommie Women's Tennis, and in the bigger picture helping our student athletes succeed in the classroom, on the court, and in life."
Carlson began his coaching career in 1999 at his alma mater, Carleton College, as men's tennis head coach. He returned to Carleton as the interim head coach for the 2004-05 season before taking over as the women's interim head coach from 2005-07, and followed that with his long run at St. Scholastica.
A native of Los Gatos, Calif., Carlson graduated from Carleton in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in political science before earning a master's degree in 1999 from Western Illinois in sport administration.
Tommie Tennis
The 2023 Tommies continued to show progress with a roster that included recent recruits as well as several accomplished players from the Tommies' Division III era.
There were growing pains in 2022's debut year, as St. Thomas took several 6-1 and 7-0 losses to Summit League opponents. But by 2023's second D-I season, the Purple began to close the gap. This year's team took seven match defeats by 4-3 margins, including four in conference play.
Transfer Marthe Degeorges was named to the All-Summit League team this year after she won 10 contests at first singles. Freshman Naisha Srivastav closed the season by winning four consecutive singles competitions.
St. Thomas had three players named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team and several others on the university's Dean's List.
