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| Tim Dunford |
WOOSTER, Ohio – After three seasons leading the men's and women's tennis program at Thiel College, Tim Dunford is the new head men's tennis coach at The College of Wooster, effective immediately, Keith Beckett, the College's director of athletics, announced Monday.
Dunford is replacing Hayden Schilling, who recently stepped down after a memorable 34-season run as Wooster's men's tennis coach.
"I am incredibly excited, and humbled as well, to be taking over a very prestigious program that has had a lot of success in the past," said Dunford in reference to the four North Coast Athletic Conference titles Wooster won (1985, 1989, 1990, 1996) and its eight finishes in the national rankings from 1983-99. "I look forward to bringing back that success in the very near future."
At Thiel, a fellow NCAA Div. III institution, Dunford built the two programs from the ground up into highly-competitive teams. Thiel had not sponsored varsity tennis since 2005-06, and under his direction, the Tomcats' men's team went from two wins during the 2011 season to a 14-5 record and third-place performance at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships in 2013.
Dunford's other significant collegiate coaching experience came as an assistant at NCAA Div. II Mount Olive College where he spent most of two academic years (2007-09). The men's team was as high as 30th and finished No. 36 in the 2008 Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings.
Dunford has also been an instructor and tennis pro at various camps and country clubs over the past decade, but his true love is coaching, which he first discovered at James Wood High School in Winchester, Va., from 2004-05.
While coaching James Wood, Dunford was also playing collegiately at Div. III Shenandoah University. During his career, he was twice academic all-conference and won the coaches choice award in 2003 from Brandon Padgett, who Dunford describes as his mentor and is now the head women's tennis coach at the University of Akron.
"I am elated about the appointment of Tim Dunford as (our) next men's tennis coach," stated Beckett. "Tim has considerable and diversified experience … (and) I am confident that Tim has the motivation and expertise to further build upon the many traditions and successes of the program's history. I'm very excited for the future."
As is Dunford. The Pemborke, Va., native believes that he can turnaround Wooster's fortunes right away. "I've coached at a lot of different levels … and this will be the first opportunity I've had to take a program and not have to build from the ground up. The talent is already here, and the team has a lot of potential to surprise people this year."