CMS Mourns Passing of Former Men's Tennis Coach Hank Krieger

CLAREMONT, Calif. – Former Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's tennis coach and Harvey Mudd professor of mathematics Hank Krieger passed away on June 29 at the age of 86, leaving behind an impressive legacy after over 50 years of contributions to the Claremont Colleges. Memorial service information is listed at the very bottom of this release.

Krieger was inducted into the CMS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004, after a 22-season tenure coaching the men's tennis program, in which the Stags won over 400 matches (407-222). During that time his overall winning percentage was .647 and his SCIAC winning percentage was .865 (212-33).

A two-time NCAA Division III Coach of the Year Award winner in 1985 and 1993, Krieger was at the helm for the Stags' first national championship in 1981. CMS earned a tie with Swarthmore for the team title, following a national singles championship from Donovan Jones, the third singles champion Krieger coached in his first six seasons at the helm.

Krieger guided CMS to nine SCIAC Championships in his career, including eight in a dominant nine-year stretch from 1986-1994. The Stags also had 18 top-10 finishes in the final NCAA Division III rankings during his 22 seasons, including No. 1 in 1981, No. 2 five times (1976, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1994) and No. 3 four times (1978, 1991, 1992, 1993).

"Hank has influenced and mentored six decades of Stags Tennis players," said current head coach Paul Settles. "He is the reason I am a college coach and at CMS today."

In his first season at the helm in 1976, Krieger had an immediate impact on the program, leading the Stags to a second-place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships. He also earned a share of the SCIAC title in his debut campaign, following a 5-4 win over Redlands in the regular season finale, which snapped a 143-match conference winning streak for Redlands, dating back to 1963.

Krieger coached 24 All-Americans during his career, including four national champions in singles (John Blomberg in 1976, A.J. Shaka in 1977, Donovan Jones in 1981, Ryan McKee in 1993). He also had three national championship doubles teams over his tenure as well (Lance Au/Frank Hinman in 1988, Ryan McKee/Chris Noyes in 1992, and Ryan McKee/Tim Cooley in 1993)

After retiring from full-time teaching as a mathematics professor at Harvey Mudd in 2005, where he began his tenure with the Claremont Colleges in 1968, Krieger continued to serve on a handful of community-based committees and boards, while contributing to the CMS tennis programs as a team consultant, historian, and volunteer assistant coach.

In addition to his legacy of championships, the CMS athletic department also instituted the Hank Krieger Award in 2000 following his retirement as the program's head coach. The award is given each year to a graduating senior who exhibits athletic excellence, academic excellence, and leadership in athletics and campus life.  

"Hank's impact extended well beyond the courts," said Mike Sutton (CMC '76), who served as the athletic director at CMS and is the current director of athletics advancement. "He was a clear voice and advocate for the athletic experience at HMC, as well as a supportive mentor/advisor to me, first as a young coach and later as AD. He fiercely promoted the scholar-athlete and ultimately his family initiated the Krieger Award in his honor."

Krieger is survived by his wife Rita, his daughter Elaine Greenwald (David), his son Jeffrey Krieger (Wendy), and his four grandchildren, Deborah Krieger, Louie Greenwald, Benjamin Krieger, and Hannah Greenwald. Tributes in his memory may be made to Claremont After-School Programs (CLASP) at clasp4kids.org. 

Funeral and Burial Service Info

The funeral and burial service for Henry "Hank" Krieger will now take place at New Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus, New Jersey at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time / 7:45 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Monday, July 11, 2022. The service will be shared by the family on Zoom. You may join the Zoom by clicking below.  To join manually, use Meeting ID # 998 0231 9030, Passcode 1628497789. The Zoom will open 15 minutes prior to the service start time.  Please note the early early service time, especially on the West Coast.

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Memorial Service Info

Photo: Hank Krieger in 2016, at the 25th reunion of the 1981 national championship team he coached