Sara O’Leary New Coach at Virginia, Valparaiso to the MVC/Summit, Pro Circuit Recap & College ATP Rankings (premium)

For the second time in the last three weeks Virginia director of athletics Craig Littlepage welcomed in a new head tennis coach. The day after the NCAA team championships he named Andres Pedroso as the director of tennis and head men’s coach and today he named Sara Anundsen O’Leary as the new women’s head coach. O’Leary comes to Charlottesville after spending the last three seasons as the women’s head coach at Davidson where she led the Wildcats to a 45-21 (.682) record. Prior to coaching at Davidson, O’Leary was an assistant coach at her alma mater, North Carolina,

Below are a few quotes from Virginia’s release:

“Sara O’Leary possesses everything we look for in our head coaches,” Littlepage said. “Sara has gained great experience working with top players, she is committed to strong academic performance, she has proven she has the ability to build a winning culture, and she is familiar with the ACC and the challenge of competing for both ACC and NCAA championships. It’s clear Sara is looking forward to working with Andres to build our tennis program and see each of our women’s tennis student-athletes reach their potential.”

“I would first like to thank Craig Littlepage, Jon Oliver and Andres Pedroso for this incredible opportunity,” O’Leary said. “The University of Virginia is one of the most prestigious universities in the country built on great tradition and it is an honor to be part of it. I would also like to thank Davidson President Carol Quillen, Jim Murphy, Katy McNay and everyone who made the last three years such a special experience for me. The relationships I have formed with my players, colleagues and supporters at Davidson have meant so much to me and I am truly thankful.

“My goal as a coach is to create a family atmosphere for my players and coaches filled with support, trust and compassion. My first priority is for the student-athletes in the program to improve as tennis players and as people. I will strive to establish a culture that gives each of them the best opportunity to maximize their potential. I am incredibly grateful and excited for this opportunity to coach at UVA and work with Andres to make a positive impact on the program, the student-athletes and the community.”

A month ago the Missouri Valley Conference announced that Valparaiso would be its newest member in all but two sports and today the Summit League announced that it’d be welcoming in Valpo’s men’s tennis team as an affiliate member for the upcoming 2017-18 season. The Valpo women’s team will play in the MVC as the league’s eighth women’s tennis member, after losing Wichita State (AAC) and Southern Illinois (discontinued), but the men were forced to look elsewhere after the MVC was down to just two men’s tennis members (Drake and Illinois State). Valpo’s release also has more details on today’s announcement. 

Last week was a very successful week for players with college ties with three winning singles titles and another seven winning doubles titles. Check out the list below to see who raised the hardware.

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To view the college ATP rankings in a separate window click here – if there is someone I’ve left off please let me know (bobbyk@collegetennistoday.com) so I can add them going forward. 

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