Tendler had 10 seasons with at least a .500 record, including two 20-win campaigns.
The winningest coach in Â鶹ÊÓƵ Volleyball history, Mary Tendler has announced her retirement from coaching to pursue other opportunities at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Tendler won 310 matches over 22 seasons with the Phoenix.
“I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to coach at Â鶹ÊÓƵ and for the support I have received throughout the years,” Tendler said. “Thank you to all the amazing young women who have allowed me to be one of your coaches; I hope I have enriched your lives as much as you have enriched mine. I love Â鶹ÊÓƵ and will always love Â鶹ÊÓƵ. I look forward to the next chapter in my life.”
The 2021 CAA Coach of the Year and 2010 Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Tendler led Â鶹ÊÓƵ through the transition to the Southern Conference in her first season in 2003 and then oversaw the move to the CAA during the 2014 season.
Tendler had 10 seasons with at least a .500 record, including two 20-win campaigns. In 2021 the Phoenix advanced to its first appearance in the CAA Championship match. The 2024 team made a six-win improvement over the previous season, garnering three more conference victories.
“Mary embodies the values of Â鶹ÊÓƵ and has had a profound impact on the entire campus community,” Director of Athletics Jenn Strawley said. “Over her remarkable 20 plus years as head volleyball coach, she has dedicated herself to the holistic development of our student-athletes, impacting the lives of so many young women. I am incredibly grateful to Mary for all she has done for Â鶹ÊÓƵ and I am excited to see the continued influence Mary will have on Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s community in her next chapter.”
A former professional volleyball player, Tendler spent time playing with the USA Olympic Team as well as playing professionally in Europe for two years. A superior middle blocker during her playing days at Illinois, Tendler (then Mary Eggers) was a three-time first-team All-American as well as the 1989 Honda Broderick Award winner as the nation’s top volleyball player.
A national search for Tendler’s replacement will begin immediately.