Lunning leads the way as University of Nebraska at Kearney debuts club tennis team

The University of Nebraska at Kearney now has a club tennis team, only the second one in the state after the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

UNK student and Omaha native Scarlett Lunning wanted to keep playing tennis after high school and decided to create the team. She first posted on Instagram and Snapchat to recruit players, and the rest fell into place.

“I wanted to continue playing tennis for fun and competitively after high school since I decided not to play in college, and I knew that a lot of people also have that thought coming into college,” she said. “In Nebraska, at the time of considering creating this, only UNL had a club tennis team.

"With so many western cities that have people who play tennis, it would be nice to have a closer school to them than Lincoln.”

This year the club team has 15 players. Lunning hopes next school year it can increase to at least 20. As most captains say, the most challenging part about captaining a tennis team is recruitment.

The most rewarding part? Going to the 2026 USTA Missouri Valley Tennis On Campus Section Championship. The Lopers were one of 15 college club tennis teams to compete in the Feb. 28-March 1 event at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Mo.

“Getting to go to Springfield and finally getting to showcase what I had been working on for the past five months,” Lunning said.

Lunning is a sophomore majoring in sports and recreation management. USTA Nebraska awarded Lunning and the UNK club tennis team a grant to help get the program started.