Lincoln – University of Nebraska men’s tennis coach Kerry McDermott announced Wednesday that Fungai Tongoona (prounounced FOO’-gah-ai TOH-go-oh-nah) has been named an assistant coach with the Husker men’s tennis program.

“I feel real fortunate to have the opportunity to add Fungai Tongoona to my coaching staff,” Head Coach Kerry McDermott said. “He brings a wealth of familiarity to our program and understands the type of individual we are looking for both as a student and an athlete here at the University of Nebraska. He is a man of high integrity, has an unbelievable work ethic and very passionate about keeping Nebraska Tennis among the elite in the Big Ten and in college tennis.”

Originally from Harare, Zimbabwe, Tongoona spent four seasons (1999-2002) with the Husker program playing for Coach McDermott. A two-year captain for the Huskers, he compiled a 12-16 in singles play while going 17-12 in double action as a senior in 2001-02. He was named the men’s tennis lifter-of-the-year in 1999-2000 and was a second-team academic All-Big 12 performer in 2000. In addition, he also served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Board during his time at Nebraska and was on honored by the Big 12 for a community outreach award in 2000. He graduated with a degree in marketing and minor in French from Nebraska in 2003.

Tongoona has been a certified tennis teaching professional since 2002, serving as head professional at Southlake (Texas) Tennis Center, as well as the Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln. Most recently, he served as the teaching professional at the DFW Hilton in Grapevine, Texas, and is also certified as a personal trainer and Tennis Trainer.

Tongoona replaces Joerg Barthel, who was named head coach at Georgia State in early August.

— Seamus McKnight, Nebraska Sports Information