Growing up in Ludwigsburg, Germany, Pioneer senior tennis player Timo Kienle has been forced to move around quite often in order to pursue his goal of playing high-level tennis while earning a degree.

Now at his third university in the past four years, Kienle has hit his stride with the Pioneers. Normally playing in the number three spot in DU’s line-up, Kienle has put together a record of 12-18 in singles play and an exceptional 17-8 in doubles play. Kienle played a major role in the Pioneers’ second place finish in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, which is their best since joining the league.

“I struggled a bit in the fall,” said Kienle, who sat out all of the 2005-06 season due to NCAA transfer rules. “It was hard to get used to playing again, but I felt I played a lot better in the Spring and especially in the conference tournament.”

It has been a long road for Kienle to reach the point he is at in his life.

Growing up in Germany, Kienle began playing tennis when he was very young.

“I started playing pretty early, probably six years old,” said Kienle. “I was really into sports and loved tennis and soccer. But at some point I had to choose between the two, and I chose soccer.”

Kienle had many strong influences on his game at an early age, as both his parents were avid tennis players.

“My parents played all the time and would take me with them,” said Kienle. “They helped me a lot, but I had some really good coaches when I was young that helped me become much better.”

Kienle had several different coaches growing up, but said that the most influential was the one that instructed him when he was 14 years old.

“He was a really good player,” said Kienle of his former coach. “He was like 15th in the world at some point. The advice that he could give was really helpful.”

Through the mentorship of his former coaches, Kienle excelled in his home country, reaching the point to where he could utilize his tennis skills to get the chance to advance his education as well.

After receiving scholarship offers from numerous U.S. colleges, Kienle saw an opportunity to something that he had always wanted to.

“I always wanted the chance to live outside of Germany,” said Kienle. “I wanted to be able to experience different cultures and get the chance to get a good education while playing tennis at a very high level.”

Kienle’s first stint at an American university did not last very long however.

“I first went to school in Florida,” said Kienle of his brief stint at NAIA school Webber International University. “It was recommended to me that I go there, but it was not what I thought that it would be. The tennis and the academics were not what I was looking for.”

Kienle was only enrolled at WIU for three months before leaving for the West Coast to attend the University of San Francisco. He played tennis and attended classes there for a full year, compiling an 8-14 record, which included an 8-9 record at the No. singles spot.

Similar to his stint at WIU, Kienle was unhappy with his school’s academics and decided to look for another option.

“I spoke with [current DU player] Adam [Holmstrom], who I knew from before,” said Kienle. “He said that the team was good and that the coaches were good. Also, I knew that the business program was very strong here.”

Kienle enrolled at DU in the fall of 2005, but had to sit out his first season with the Pioneers due to NCAA regulations regarding transferring between Division I schools.

Now as a senior leader on the Pioneers team, Kienle is working toward graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in business. Unfortunately for the Pioneer squad, Kienle has decided to forego his final year of eligibility to go to graduate school in Europe.

“I am looking at going into investment banking,” said Kienle, who has applied to MBA programs in England and Germany. “It is much easier to get recruited to a firm in Europe than here. It was a tough decision, but I am excited.”

Even though Kienle has only been a Pioneer for two years, the time that he has spent in the Mile High City has left him with very fond memories.

“We are just very close as a team,” said Kienle of his fellow men’s tennis players. “We live together and are all good friends. It was a great time being with them, and I will miss them all.”