Wayne Garner begins his eighth season as head women’s tennis coach at Southern Arkansas. He also serves as assistant director of alumni affairs/international student counselor at the university.

Following a 10-year naval career, Garner came to SAU as a student in 1994. In January 1999 he accepted his current position and took the reins of the resurrected women’s tennis program in 2000.

Garner has gradually built a foundation for the Lady Mulerider program and last year led the team to a 12-14 mark, the program’s most successful season in the past seven years. He has coached five all-conference honorees, one freshman of the year, 15 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athletes, two ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District picks, five Gulf South Conference All-Academic selections, and his teams have been named ITA All-Academic for the past three years.

Garner received his B.S.E. in social studies education from Southern Arkansas in 1998. A native of Holly, Mich., he has two sons, James and Benjamin.