On Air
Getting to Know ...
Kathy Kolankiewicz
(posted April 22, 2009)
For the past 24 years she steered what might have been the most consistent program for UNM athletics.
Kathy Kolankiewicz guided the Lobos to 11 NCAA Tournaments spots in the national rankings (as high as No. 21). Perhaps most impressively, Coach K's teams have achieved at least a 3.0 GPA for 20 years. For the past three semesters, that GPA has been at least a 3.6. What else would you expect from a coach with a Ph.D.? She got her doctorate in Sports Administration from UNM in 1996.
The Lobos host the Mountain West Conference Tennis Championships starting Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center. Kolankiewicz sat down with The Team this week.
THE TEAM: Do players call you coach or doc?
KATHY KOLANKIEWICZ: (Laughs) Most of them call me Kathy.
THE TEAM: How many coaches have you met that have Ph.D.s?
KOLANKIEWICZ: As far as tennis coaches, I'd say there's a handful. At UNM I was the only one who had a Ph.D. until -- actually our swimming coach (Tracy Ljone) just got her Ph.D. this year. We have two on the staff now. ... You don't see too many.
THE TEAM: What spurred you to get that?
KOLANKIEWICZ: I've always loved school and I came here with a master's degree. ... The sports administration classes just really seemed to be right up my alley. I just did it gradually over time. Finally the chair of my dissertation told me in September of 1995 I guess it was, "Kath I'm going to be retiring next year so you either finish that dissertation or you find a new chair." That kind of gave me the push I needed to finish it that year. ... I felt like, at some point in my career, I'd probably go into administration because I really like the administrative side. Hasn't happened yet because a little bit later on I realized that our head coaching jobs were turning much more into administrative postilions with all the paperwork and requirements the NCAA is making us do.Then I realized that I really have the best of both worlds. I do administration half of my day and the other half I'm out on the court teaching tennis, which is why love coaching. It's basically teaching and motivating and inspiring college athletes.
THE TEAM: What comes after retirement for you?
KOLANKIEWICZ: I'm not quite sure yet. I'm sure I'll have a whole other career. ... Got a couple things in the works, but I'm not 100 percent sure yet.
THE TEAM: What do you want your UNM career remembered for?
KOLANKIEWICZ: I would probably say consistency. Consistency on and off the court. We've had really good success. We've been in the top 10 or 15 percent of all Division I programs as far as far our ranking. I'm really proud of the fact that our academics have been extremely high, extremely strong. I really focus on academics with my players and we've had above a 3.0 (GPA) for two decades. We've had a 3.6 or above the last three semesters in a row. I have 100 percent graduation rate. We've made it to the conference finals or semifinals all my 24 years coaching.
THE TEAM: Most memorable moment at UNM?
KOLANKIEWICZ: Wow. That would be tough. A couple of the moments that stand out would be when we won the regular season conference championship in 2004. Getting my 200th win,300th win, 350th win. Those were all pretty memorable moments. Beating BYU for the first time when we were 0-20 against them. Beating a couple 20 teams throughout the years. .. Then just seeing them achieve in the classroom as well.
THE TEAM: Do you ever wish college tennis got the attention of, say, football or basketball?
KOLANKIEWICZ: Yeah. You know it's tough. We don't get much press. I understand that you have to do really good things to get coverage, unless you're football or basketball. So, yeah it gets a little rough sometimes when you don't get but maybe one article for the whole year. And you don't get any news coverage, or much advertising or media. But, you know, I also understand that the way it is and that's the way it is everywhere just about. I do think we get more here in Albuquerque than most other schools. ... Here in New Mexico, UNM does get a lot of coverage, but you don't see a lot about the non-revenue sports such as ours.
THE TEAM: What's the key to keeping the team GPA above 3.0 for 31 semesters?
KOLANKIEWICZ: I set a good example, Number 1. Two, when they come in, we talk about it. The first thing I say is you are here to get a degree, to get an education and academics is No. 1. Now, assuming you're on scholarship, tennis is a close second. But you've got your time divided between academics and tennis and then a little bit left for your social life. ... We try to help them and monitor them as the semester goes on. Get them help when they need to get help. And then, what some coaches don't do, but I've always done: if they want to major in something that requires they take some classes in the afternoon, which is typically when we practice, I've always allowed for them to do that. And we work around that. ... We'll work them out separately. That's the nice thing about tennis being an individual sport.
THE TEAM: Worst name butchering you ever got?
KOLANKIEWICZ: I can't tell you for on-air. It's a funny one, but I probably shouldn't say it. ... Some people call me Coach K. It's a lot easier.
THE TEAM: What's the dream scenario for the final UNM match you coach?
KOLANKIEWICZ: We're hosting conference here starting tomorrow. When I was deciding what year I wanted to retire that played into it. I felt like, gosh that would be great to go out winning the conference tournament, when we have it here at home in Albuquerque because we have the best fans. We have more fans come to our matches than any other school that we've ever been to.
THE TEAM: Song playing in your iPod?
KOLANKIEWICZ: I like a lot of the 70s and 80s (music), which is what I grew up on. But I must say that being around these players, who are 18 to 22, I'm really into this dance music. It really gets you going. We listen to a little bit of dance music during practices when things are getting a little monotonous or boring.
THE TEAM: What's the first thing you do when you wake up?
KOLANKIEWICZ: I take my little vitamin C then I go for a walk with my dog.
THE TEAM: Ever broke a racquet in frustration?
KOLANKIEWICZ: Only one time. I was in college. I did it off the court, by myself. Moved away went to a tree, but the racquet was already cracked. I didn't ruin a brand new racquet. It was already cracked and I took my frustrations out on that tree. But I have a pretty quiet, calm temperament.
THE TEAM: Fill in the blank. If the TV's on at midnight, I'm watching...
KOLANKIEWICZ: Usually CNN.
THE TEAM: Winning the conference tourney would take?
KOLANKIEWICZ: A lot of focus. A lot of intensity. Playing our absolute best tennis.
-- As told to James Staley
