SE Athletics
DURANT – Southeastern Director of Athletics Keith Baxter has announced the hiring of Cari Groce to lead the Savage Storm men’s and women’s tennis programs.
Sports presented by Indian Nation Wholesale.
“It’s an incredible honor to return to Southeastern, a place that holds deep roots in my family’s story,” Groce said. “As the alma mater of my parents and many of my aunts, uncles, brother, and grandfather, this school has always felt like home. Stepping into this role is more than a coaching opportunity — it’s a chance to give back to a community that has given so much to my family. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Southeastern’s administration for their trust and support. I’m excited to build on the school’s strong tradition of excellence, foster a culture of hard work and sportsmanship, and help our student-athletes grow both on and off the court.”
“We are excited to have Coach Groce leading our Tennis program,” Baxter said. “She has great knowledge and years of experience, not to mention her family ties to Southeastern. Her father, Ike Groce, was an incredible Tennis player at SE and a member of the Southeastern Athletic Hall of Fame. It will be an opportunity for our student-athletes to learn from one of the best.
Groce is no stranger to Southeastern as the daughter of Hall of Fame tennis player Ike Groce who was the first tennis player inducted into the hall, joining as part of the class of 1982.
She returns to the collegiate sidelines after a stint at the high school level where she worked with Stillwater High School since August of 2018.
Prior to returning to her hometown she had a brief stop as a Head Tennis Pro at Stonebridge Ranch CC in McKinney, Texas, which was on the heels of her last collegiate level stop at Central Oklahoma.
In two seasons at UCO she coached four ITA academic All-Americans and three MIAA All-conference selections.
That stop followed a handful of Division I stops that included three head coaching positions, most recently from 2002-to-2008 at Texas Tech, picking up 57 wins, including an eight-win turnaround in her first season.
Prior to her time in Lubbock, Texas, she spent 11 seasons guiding Washington State women’s tennis program where she was a three-time PAC-10 Coach of the Year in 1995, 1996, and 2002.
Her squads picked up a pair of PAC-10 North Division Championships and earned four NCAA Tournament berths and were ranked nationally from 1993 through 2002.
The Cougars featured 19 All-PAC 10 selections, six players who advanced to the NCAA singles or doubles championships and compiled 140 wins.
She started her head coaching career at the University of Tulsa after a pair of assistant coaching stops at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.
She played her collegiate tennis at Nebraska where she was the program’s first tennis All-American in 1986 before going on to play professionally on the European Circuit.
She would ultimately earn her degree from Oklahoma State in 1988 and eventually add a master’s from East Central in 2020.