Andy Jackson Named Gator Men's Tennis Coach
Tuesday, June 19, 2001 | Men's Tennis
The University of Florida Athletic Association and Athletics Director Jeremy Foley today announced the hiring of Andy Jackson as its new men's tennis coach.
Jackson has coached the Mississippi State men's tennis team since 1989 after serving as MSU's women's tennis head coach from 1984-89. In his 13 years as MSU men's coach, Jackson compiled a 220-106 record (.675) with a 100-59 SEC record (.629).
Jackson's teams have advanced to the NCAA Semifinals in 1994 and 1998 and made five quarterfinal appearances. MSU has currently earned 11 consecutive NCAA bids, one of seven teams in the nation to do so. The Bulldogs have finished each of Jackson's 13 years ranked in the final top 25 and finished in the top 10 for seven consecutive seasons from 1992-98.
"Andy has done an exceptional job at Mississippi State. His record and championships speak for themselves," said Foley. "Andy is a very organized coach who has a tremendous drive to make our tennis program one of the nation's elite and we are excited that he is joining the Gator athletic program."
"I'm extremely excited," Jackson said. "It's a big challenge and a big change. I love Mississippi State but the opportunity at Florida is something that is extraordinary. Florida is a place that should have one of the elite tennis programs. There is great weather, a great conference, great athletic support, facilities and academics. This is something that I felt like I wanted to be a part of and to try to take Florida to an elite level. It is going to be hard and take a lot of hard work over a period of time but that's a challenge and that's what I'm looking for."
Mississippi State also captured SEC regular season championships in 1992 and 1993 under Jackson, the 1991 SEC Coach of the Year. MSU won the SEC Tournament Championship in 1996 and has made three other appearances in the SEC Tournament final. MSU has three times appeared in the semifinals of the National Team Indoors under Jackson, most recently in 1998.
Jackson coached Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons to the 1994 NCAA Doubles Championship. He also coached an NCAA Doubles Championship winning women's tandem in 1989 when Jackie Holden and Claire Pollard captured the title. He is the only coach in the history of collegiate tennis to coach both NCAA men's and women's doubles champions at the same school.
Jackson has coached a total of nine collegiate grand slam event champions while at MSU. Under Jackson's tutelage, four different MSU singles players and three doubles teams have held the No. 1 spot in the ITA national rankings, including Marco Baron who finished the 2001 season on top of the collegiate tennis world in singles.
In 2001, Baron became the second Bulldog to earn SEC Player of the Year honors under Jackson, joining Thomas Dupre' who in 1997 was honored as both the SEC and the national Men's Player of the Year. Dupre' earned the national citation by capturing the first two legs of the collegiate grand slam (National Clay Court Championship and All-American) and finishing the year ranked No. 1 in the nation by the ITA. Dupre' is also one of three Bulldog men's tennis players to twice be named Academic All-American under Jackson, joining Baron and Kristian Broems.
Jackson played collegiately at the University of Kentucky, captaining the Wildcats as a senior to the 1984 NIT Championship. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from UK in 1984. After graduation Jackson maintained a ATP Tour World Ranking while coaching the MSU women's tennis team from 1986-88. Jackson, who will turn 40 on August 14, is a native of Oneida, Ky., and is a descendant of former U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
THE ANDY JACKSON FILE
Birthdate: August 14, 1961
Hometown: Oneida, Ky.
High School: Franklin County High School (Franklin, Ky.), 1979
Education: Bachelor of Arts- Political Science, University of Kentucky, 1984
Overall Head Coaching Record: 287-151 (17 seasons)
Men's Tennis Head Coaching Record: 220-104 (13 seasons)
Playing Career:
Lettered at the University of Kentucky in 1983 and 1984… Played #2 singles and doubles for UK… Served as team captain in 1984, helping team to NIT Championship… UK's 1984 Outstanding Christian Athlete of the Year… Maintained a World Class ranking on the ATP Tour from June 1986 to July 1988.
Coaching Career:
Women's Tennis Head Coach, Mississippi State University, 1984-89
Men's Tennis Head Coach, Mississippi State University, 1989-2001
Men's Tennis Head Coach, University of Florida, 2001-present
Coaching Highlights:
Team:
· 1994, '98 NCAA Semifinalists
· 1994, '95, '96, '97, '98 NCAA Quarterfinalists
· 11 straight NCAA team appearances (1991-2001), one of only seven schools in the nation to reach each of the past 11 fields
· Advanced to NCAA final site in 10 of the last 11 years
· 1993 SEC Champions
· 1996 SEC Tournament Champions
· 1992, '93 SEC Regular Season Champions
· 1991, '93, '94 SEC Tournament Runner-up
· 1991 SEC Coach of the Year
· Thirteen consecutive Top 25 finishes; has never missed the final top 25 as a men's coach
· Seven Top 10 finishes
· Three 20-plus win seasons
· Three National Team Indoor semifinal berths
Individual:
· Has coached NCAA Doubles Champions in both 1989 (Jackie Holden/Claire Pollard) and 1994 (Laurent Miquelard/Joc Simmons) and is the only coach in NCAA history to coach men's and women's NCAA doubles champions at the same school
· Has coached a total of nine collegiate grand slam event champions
· Has coached four different singles players and three different doubles teams to the No. 1 spot in the ITA rankings
· Thomas Dupre' named 1997 National Player of the Year
· Has coached two SEC Players of the Year (Marco Baron - 2001, and Thomas Dupre' 1997)
· Has coached 26 NCAA Singles qualifiers and 14 NCAA Doubles qualifiers
· Has coached 15 of the 16 All-Americans in MSU's men's tennis history
· Has coached three two-time Academic All-Americans
· Has coached 43 men's Academic All-SEC selections, including seven in 2001
JACKSON YEAR-BY-YEAR HEAD COACHING RECORD
| Year | M/W | Overall | Pct. | SEC (Fin.) | Pct. | NCAA Finish | Final Rank |
| 1985 | W | 7-15 | .318 | 1-8 (7th) | .111 | Did Not Compete | NR |
| 1986 | W | 19-8 | .704 | 5-4 (5th) | .556 | Did Not Compete | NR |
| 1987 | W | 15-7 | .682 | 5-4 (4th) | .556 | Did Not Compete | NR |
| 1988 | W | 14-8 | .636 | 5-4 (4th) | .556 | Did Not Compete | NR |
| 1989 | W | 12-7 | .632 | 5-4 (5th) | .556 | Did Not Compete | 20th |
| 1989 | M | 16-8 | .667 | 4-5 (t5th) | .444 | Did Not Compete | 20th |
| 1990 | M | 12-11 | .522 | 5-6 (6th) | .455 | Did Not Compete | t25th |
| 1991 | M | 17-12 | .586 | 5-7 (6th) | .417 | Round of 16 | 20th |
| 1992 | M | 19-6 | .760 | 9-3 (4th) | .750 | Round of 16 | 9th |
| 1993 | M | 19-7 | .731 | 12-2 (t1st) | .857 | Round of 16 | 7th |
| 1994 | M | 21-7 | .750 | 10-4 (t2nd) | .714 | Semifinals | 3rd |
| 1995 | M | 19-7 | .731 | 10-3 (3rd) | .769 | Quarterfinals | 6th |
| 1996 | M | 20-6 | .769 | 11-4 (3rd) | .733 | Quarterfinals | 8th |
| 1997 | M | 17-6 | .739 | 8-4 (t4th) | .667 | Quarterfinals | 6th |
| 1998 | M | 21-5 | .807 | 10-3 (3rd) | .769 | Semifinals | 4th |
| 1999 | M | 13-12 | .520 | 5-7 (9th) | .417 | Round of 16 | 15th |
| 2000 | M | 12-8 | .600 | 6-5 (6th) | .546 | Second Round | 22nd |
| 2001 | M | 14-11 | .560 | 5-6 (t5th) | .455 | Round of 16 | 14th |
| TOTALS | |||||||
| Overall | 18 | 287-151 | .655 | 121-83 | .593 | ||
| Men | 13 | 220-106 | .675 | 100-59 | .629 | ||
| Women | 5 | 67-45 | .598 | 21-24 | .467 | ||
