University of Tennessee Athletics
Woodruff Named Volunteer Assistant Coach
May 31, 2002 | Men's Tennis
May 31, 2002
Former Vol All-America and nine-year ATP professional tour player Chris Woodruff was named volunteer assistant coach for the Tennessee tennis team Friday. Woodfruff, who played for the Vols in 1992-93, will begin his work with the team in June since retiring from the tour in May.
While at Tennessee, Woodruff was crowned NCAA champion in 1993 (the only Vol to ever win the title) and was also named All-America in his only two seasons at the school. In 1992 he was named ITA rookie of the year and in 1993 was also given the USTA sportsmanship award. As a professional, Woodruff acheived a career high singles ranking of No. 29, while winning two career singles titles (1999 Newport and the 1997 Montreal Super 9 Canadian Open). He was also a quarterfinalist at the 2000 Australian Open and played Davis Cup for the United States. Woodruff's biggest wins on tour came against Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Gustavo Kuertan, Mark Phillipoussis, Goran Ivanisevic and Yevgeni Kafeknikov.
"The addition of Chris Woodruff to our coaching staff is invaluable to our program here at the University of Tennessee," UT head coach Michael fancutt said. "Having one of the best American pro players of the last decade working with our team, and having him pass on his experience to our guys will help keep Tennessee at the top of College tennis. Chris' intensity, work ethic, and professionalism are legendary amongst the tennis community and these assets will definitely rub off onto our current team members. Chris is a close personal friend and former teammate of Assistant Coach Chris Mahony, so we know that he will fit perfectly into our coaching staff. We are all very proud of the fact that our Coaching Staff is now comprised of 3 former UT All-Americans who all competed on the international pro tour. I'm not sure if any other coaching staff in the country can say that."
