UW-River Falls Tennis

Assistant Coaches

Aug. 29, 2008

"Dr. Don" Leake starts his eighth year as an assistant coach with the Falcons. He joined the coaching staff in 2001 after serving as a volunteer coach in 2000. A self-taught student of the game, he brings over 30 years of tennis playing experience to the court.

Leake began playing tennis in junior high school on the windy plains of Oklahoma. A two-year letter winner at his high school in Columbia, Mo., he qualified for the state tournament his senior year (1970). He honed his tennis skills throughout college and perfected his backcourt game in Africa while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Leake joined the math department at UWRF in 1983 and has been a persistent presence on the University courts for 23 years. His association with Head Coach Lee Lueck goes back as a life long friendly opponent on the court, as his assistant coach at River Falls High School, and has been an unwavering member of Lueck's USTA 4.0 league team.

Don is married to Ann and they have two daughters; Dani, a social worker who is getting married in Florida over spring break 2009 and Claire, a graduate student at UW-Madison. Leake resides in River Falls within sight of the University tennis courts.

Don Leake

Tim Thum is in his eight year as assistant woman's tennis coach. He played varsity tennis at South Dakota Technical College where he received a degree in mechanical engineering in 1984. He has worked at UWRF as an engineer in the facilities management department since 1989. He was the Project Manager for the new tennis complex that was completed in August of 2005.

Thum is also the official team stringer and will again string team racquets this year. Thum has been an avid tennis player for the past 29 years, has assisted Head Coach Lee Lueck on a voluntary basis at both the high school and collegiate levels, and been a member of Lueck's USTA 4.0 league tennis team for seven years. He is married to Marilyn and has three children. His oldest daughter, Michele, works in River Falls as an engineer; Kristin is a senior at UW-Stout majoring in family and consumer science and Kevin begins his second year at the River Falls High School and loves baseball.

Tim Thum

Megan Knobloch graduated from UW-River Falls in 2006 and is in her second year as a first grade teacher at St. Croix Central Elementary in Roberts, Wis. She joins the talented coaching staff in 2008 as an assistant coach.

She played tennis for the Falcons from 2002-2005 and had a 71-66 record. In 2005 she earned the WIAC's highest honor when she was named the tennis Scholar-Athlete. The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is presented to the most outstanding individual from each conference sport that exhibits the greatest combination of performance and achievement in academics, athletics and leadership. She was also named to the WIAC Scholastic Honor Rolls in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Knobloch had a great four-year career with the Falcons. She played No. 1 singles and doubles for the Falcons in 2005, where she finished the season with a 12-4 overall record in singles and she placed third at the WIAC Championships.

She recently became engaged and is planning a Dec. 27, 2008 wedding in her hometown of Marshfield, Wis. She is the daughter of Tim and Mary Jo and has one older sister, Emily.

Megan Knobloch

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