Jared and Christy Ward have been appointed tennis professionals at the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence.

The Wards have been certified as U.S. Professional Tennis Association Elite teaching professionals since 2002. They come to Lawrence from the Ozark Tennis Academy (OTA), which they founded in Bentonville, Ark., in 2006.

The husband-and-wife team has an impressive teaching record, not only at OTA, but also at Arrowhead Country Club in South Dakota (as junior tennis directors), and then as head pros for Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark. At both those facilities, the programs tripled in size during their time there.