Ohio Northern head coach Scott Wills was recently honored as one of the nation's top NCAA Division III women's tennis coaches by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Wills currently ranks ninth all-time in NCAA Division III women's tennis history with a winning percentage of 78.9. His 19-year career record of 381-102 puts him 19th all-time on the NCAA Division III women's tennis wins list.
He is only nine wins away from the Ohio Athletic Conference women's tennis record of 390 wins by Baldwin Wallace's Jack Bethanfalvy, who went 390-300 from 1985-2018.
Click here for the full rundown of the top 50 coaches in both categories.
The Polar Bears are planning to open their 2021 schedule Feb. 5-7 at the Transylvania (Ky.) Invitational.
The Fort Wayne, Ind., native graduated from Ohio Northern in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He went on to earn his MBA from Ashland University in 1991.
Wills also serves as the Director of Development for the College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern.
In his first 19 seasons, the Polar Bears have posted 381 wins with just 102 losses in addition to eight OAC Championships, making him the winningest coach in program history.
Wills ranks second on the all-time wins list in Ohio college tennis history, which includes all NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA coaches, and is first among all active Ohio women's college tennis coaches.
Under his guidance, ONU captured OAC Regular Season crowns in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011-13, and 2014-15 as well as OAC Tournament titles in 2002, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015.
The 2002 championship was the first-ever conference tournament title in ONU women's tennis program history.
In 2012, ONU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, the school's first-ever NCAA victory and best finish in school history. Wills also led the Polar Bears to the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round during the 2014-15 season.
Wills has been named OAC Coach of the Year by his peers in 2002, 2005, 2009, 2012, and 2015.
The Polar Bears have also excelled in the classroom during his tenure with the team receiving Intercollegiate Tennis Association Academic All-American Team honors each of the last 14 seasons.
Coach Wills has an extensive tennis background and is a certified professional through the United States Professional Tennis Association. He is also a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Wills served as chair of the 2009 NCAA Division III National Tennis Committee, which oversees selection and guidelines for the NCAA Championships.
He currently serves as chair of the OAC Men's & Women's Tennis Coaches Association and is a member of the USTA Midwest Section Junior Tennis Committee.
In 2010, Wills was the recipient of the Fay Tooley Memorial Award, which recognizes tennis community service efforts.
As a student-athlete at ONU, Wills was a four-year letterman on the men’s tennis squad under legendary coach Mark Lenssen.
He played #1 singles and #1 doubles all four years, was an All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree in 1986 and 1987, and served as team captain during his senior season.
Wills posted a 21-13 singles record and was 22-11 in doubles play from 1985-87. He helped the Polar Bears amass a 34-10 record during his four seasons, including an undefeated 10-0 mark in 1987.
"I feel very fortunate to coach at my alma mater," Wills said. "I had a tremendous undergraduate experience at ONU under Coach Lenssen, who stressed the importance of excelling in academics and athletics. I want to provide that kind of experience for our current and future student-athletes. We have a very solid athletics tradition at Ohio Northern, and I am confident we'll continue to build upon that tradition."
After graduating from ONU, his success on the court continued. He was the 1991 City of New Philadelphia singles champion and reached the finals of the Anderson Open in 1995 and the Gahanna Open in 2000.
Coach Wills resides in Ada with his wife Jamie, daughters Mackenzie and Miranda, and son, Macormick.
