TCU names Borelli head men's tennis coach
8/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 17, 2006
The TCU Athletics Department has announced Dave Borelli as the new head coach of the Horned Frog men's tennis team.
Borelli had served the last four seasons as head coach of the TCU women's squad. Jefferson Hammond, Borelli's assistant the last two years, has been named interim head coach for the TCU women.
Prior to arriving at TCU, Borelli served as the men's professional tour coach for the United States Tennis Association. He was in charge of the rookie pro program for USA player development. Several of his players have been ranked in the top 100 in the world, including 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Mardy Fish, Robby Ginepri, Brian Vahaly and Jeff Morrison. Borelli coached back-to-back NCAA champions in Morrison (Florida, 1999) and Alex Kim (Stanford, 2000) on the pro tour. Brandon Hawk, a former No. 1 player at Texas and All-American, was also coached by Borelli.
"Dave Borelli is a perfect fit for our men's tennis program," TCU athletics director Danny Morrison said. "Dave did an outstanding job with our women's team and we're very excited to have him in a new capacity. He will also be an outstanding resource for Jefferson.
"Dave is highly respected nationally in the tennis community and we're extremely fortunate to have him at TCU."
With the TCU women, Borelli posted a 72-30 record (.705). His 18-year overall mark, which includes seven national championships with the USC women's team, is 374-75 (.833).
"I've had a lot of success in different aspects of the game of tennis, and I'm very excited about this new opportunity and challenge," Borelli said. "Being at TCU makes it all the better.
"My goal is for TCU tennis to be No. 1 in the classroom and on the court. I believe my experience with the men on the pro tour will be a great asset to my coaching. I've been able to develop top women's teams at two different schools. This is something I've always wanted.
"I'm also happy for Jefferson. He is ready for this new position and was a major part of our success. Everything is in place for TCU to have a top-10 program for both the men and women."
Over the four-year period with TCU women's tennis, the team progressed from a ranking of 56th in 2003 to its No. 15 position in 2006.
Borelli was named Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Southwest Region Coach of the Year and Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2005 and Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year in 2006. Additionally, Borelli was named the NCAA National Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1981.
Borelli's 2006 TCU squad won the Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championship while advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Horned Frogs hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships as they defeated Rice and Texas.
The 2005-06 squad featured Gloriann Lopez receiving the ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership Award, while Helena Besovic was named the ITA Senior Player of the Year. Anna Sydorska was tabbed MWC Freshman of the Year and ITA Rookie of the Year. A total of five players earned WTA rankings. Five individuals and two doubles teams were All-MWC selections.
In 2004-05, TCU become a force on the national scene. The Frogs ended the year with a 21-5 record, and their final ranking of 19th marked the first top-20 finish since 1981. At one point, TCU was rated as high as No. 14 to tie a school record established over 20 years ago. TCU finished second at the Conference USA Championship and narrowly missed on making the school's first appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 when Tulane won a 4-3 decision in the second round in New Orleans.
For his efforts, Borelli was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Southwest Region Coach of the Year. His players earned numerous honors as well, headlined by Story Tweedie-Yates who became one of Borelli's first two All-Americans at TCU. Tweedie-Yates was a singles All-American, and she earned the accolade in doubles with partner Ana Cetnik. They were just the fifth and sixth Horned Frogs in school history to earn All-America recognition.
Borelli's Frogs set a school record for most participants in one year at the 2005 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships with four. Helena Besovic and Tweedie-Yates both competed in singles, and Tweedie-Yates advanced deeper than any other Frog in school history by reaching the quarterfinals. Cetnik and Tweedie-Yates set a school record as well in doubles by making it to the semifinal round.
Borelli's 2003-04 team was the C-USA championship runner-up for the second straight year, and the Frogs made their first NCAA appearance under Borelli. The then second-year coach guided Paty Aburto to an at-large bid in the NCAA Singles Championship, which marked the first time a Horned Frog had competed in the event since 1993. The Frogs ended the season ranked 28th in the country, an improvement of 28 spots from Borelli's first season in 2003.
A 1974 graduate of USC, Borelli was a four-year varsity member on the Trojans' men's tennis team. He was named USC's Outstanding Scholar Athlete as a senior and was an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship recipient.
Throughout his career, Borelli has coached collegiate, professional, club and camp tennis. He spent 14 seasons (1974, 1976-88) at USC, where his teams earned seven national titles, three runner-up finishes and 10 conference championships. During his time in Los Angeles, he coached five individuals to national collegiate singles titles and two doubles teams to collegiate championships. In total, 25 different players earned 56 All-America honors.
Following the 1981 season, Borelli was named the NCAA National Collegiate Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 33-1 overall record and a third-place national finish. In 1983, Borelli became the youngest coach to win an NCAA women's tennis title at the age of 32 when the Women of Troy finished with a 33-0 record.
In his career at USC, Borelli posted a 302-45 record for an .870 winning percentage. Over an eight-year period, his teams won 88 straight home matches.
For two summers, Borelli served as the head coach for the Sacramento Capitals, a professional tennis team. He was also a tennis pro at both Sierra Sport and Racquet Club as well as the Copper River Country Club in Fresno, Calif.
In 1997, Borelli was selected as the United States Professional Tennis Association Pro of the Year. He was later a private pro tour coach for four years after he left collegiate coaching.
Borelli has served as the chair of the National Collegiate Tennis Coaches Committee, the Western Collegiate Athletic Association, the Pac-10 Coaches Committee and was on the board of directors for the Central California Tennis Association. He currently serves on the ITA and NCAA Southwest Regional committees.
Hammond came to TCU after two seasons at USC. During the 2003 and 2004 campaigns, he served as the volunteer assistant coach for the nationally-ranked Trojan men's team. He helped guide the 2004 USC squad to a co-Pac-10 team championship and the NCAA semifinals.
The Indianapolis native broke into the collegiate scene in 2002 as an administrative assistant for the UC Irvine men's tennis team.
Hammond started his coaching career in 2000 at University High in Irvine, Calif., after serving as an assistant tennis pro at The Pointe Hilton on South Mountain in Phoenix. During his two-year stint with the boys' varsity tennis squad at University High, Hammond led his team to two California Interscholastic Federation team championships. Following the 2000 title, he was named the Orange County Register Coach of the Year.
Hammond has not only excelled as a coach but as a player. As recently as 2001, he was ranked No. 1 in the Southern California Tennis Association in the men's 30-and-under singles.
Hammond earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Vermont in 1993, where he was four-year starter on the tennis team with a .694 winning percentage in singles. He was co-captain as a senior and, in 1992, he helped lead the Catamounts to the North Atlantic Conference championship. Following graduation, he spent time playing on the United States Tennis Association Pro Circuit.
Players Mentioned
