MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake High School has a new tennis coach.

Rich Gregoire was named the next head tennis coach for the Chiefs by athletic director Loren Sandhop Wednesday, pending School Board approval, and will start in the spring.

"Rich is a quality, good character guy," Sandhop said. "He's the type of coach I look for."

Gregoire spent six years coaching the Royal Knights tennis team, as well as a year at West Valley (Yakima). He has also spend time as a tennis instructor for Moses Lake Parks and Recreation.

Sandhop said that he wanted Gregoire as a coach for a few years and with former tennis coach Jon Wrigley moving to Mead High School this fall the timing was right.

"We're happy as heck that we got him," he said.

Gregoire's experience coaching different levels of talent should be beneficial to the Chiefs as the school is expecting a larger tennis team.

Gregoire is a graduate of Ephrata High School and Central Washington University, where he played tennis collegiately. Currently, Gregoire teaches math at Frontier Middle School.

Tennis season is scheduled to start March 15 with the Moses Lake Jamboree.

Last season Moses Lake made a district tournament appearance, but no Chiefs were able to advance to the state tournament.