NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt Wrestling Club has named longtime professor and experienced wrestling coach Mark Schoenfield to lead the program as it begins an exciting new chapter of collegiate competition.

Schoenfield brings a unique combination of Vanderbilt experience and a lifelong connection to wrestling. A longtime member of Vanderbilt's English faculty, Schoenfield also competed collegiately at Yale University during the period when Yale sponsored NCAA Division I wrestling. His connection to wrestling at Vanderbilt dates back decades; during his second year as a professor, he won Vanderbilt's intramural wrestling tournament.

In addition to his collegiate wrestling background, Schoenfield has extensive coaching experience at the high-school level. As an assistant coach, he has helped develop numerous boys' and girls' state placers and has coached at least one state qualifier in nearly every season in which he has been involved. That experience gives Vanderbilt's developing wrestlers a coach familiar with athletes at a wide range of competitive levels.

Schoenfield said he is looking forward to working with Vanderbilt student-athletes and helping create an environment centered on competition, improvement and enjoyment of the sport. As the program develops, the goal will be to establish a sustainable wrestling tradition that gives Vanderbilt students an opportunity to represent their university in collegiate competition.

Joining Schoenfield in the coaching effort is Eero Gross, a former collegiate wrestler at Wabash College who is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Biology at Vanderbilt. Gross brings additional collegiate experience to the room as well as a strong background in freestyle wrestling.

The addition of Schoenfield and Gross provides Vanderbilt Wrestling with an experienced coaching foundation as the program develops its schedule, attracts additional student-athletes and begins competing within the National Collegiate Wrestling Association.

With growing student interest, experienced coaching and support from the Vanderbilt community, the program is focused on building something that can endure for years to come while providing another opportunity for student-athletes to continue wrestling at the collegiate level.