Seward County hires Bridel to lead the Tennis programs

Seward County Community College is thrilled to announce Brett Bridel as the next men’s and women’s tennis coach. Bridel, an Aurora, Illinois native, was previously the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Judson University, an NAIA program in Elgin, Illinois, and has 30 years of coaching experience. Bridel brings NCAA D1, D2, NAIA, and NJCAA coaching experience to Seward County. Athletic Director Dan Artamenko shared his excitement to have Coach Bridel “I am thrilled to bring Brett on to lead our Men’s and Women’s programs. After record breaking years in both programs last year, Coach Bridel has the experience and passion to continue the growth of Seward County Tennis. His prior success at both the NJCAA and NCAA levels showed Brett was the guy for the job.”

In the early 2000s, Bridel built the College of DuPage (NJCAA) Tennis program into a powerhouse. On the men’s side, he coached the men’s team at DuPage to back-to-back National Championships and, in 2003 and 2004, was named NJCAA Men’s National Coach of the Year and NJCAA Men’s Region IV Coach of the Year. The women’s team was the NJCAA (national) runner-up in 2004.

Bridel spoke on what it means to be a part of Seward County, “The opportunity to work with high-level, dedicated student-athletes with great support from the college and the community means a great deal to me.” Bridel will take over the programs after a very successful spring season where the women’s program finished third at nationals and the men’s National Championship season.

The first objective is to form a bond with the current and incoming student-athletes, “I look forward to building strong, healthy relationships with each tennis player, working with them at practice, and coaching them up during our matches.” Bridel stated.

Before his time at Judson, Bridel spent a season with Point University and turned the program around to above .500 program. Bridel’s longest tenure was at Lewis University, where he was the head men’s and women’s tennis coach from 2007-2020. In 2012 he was named ITA Midwest Women’s Coach of the Year, made a combined 11 NCAA Division II National Tournaments, and had his men’s and women’s teams ranked in the top 10 national polls.

Bridel has coached seven ITA All-Americans, 45 Great Lake Valley Conference (GLVC) All-Conference members, and eight GLVC Player of the Year recipients.

Last season the men’s tennis season finished with a 14-3 overall record, named KJCCC regular season champions, Region VI Runner-up and the NJCAA National Champions. Seward County’s historical tennis program continues to build on its vast history. The Lady Saints concluded the 2021-22 season with an 11-4 overall record, KJCCC regular season champions, Region VI champions, and third in the NJCAA. This was the best finish in the program’s history, and Bridel is ready to continue the legacy of Saints tennis.

Seward County Athletics is excited to have Bridel with so much coaching experience, join the Department and the Community.