UF associate head coach Tanner Stump, who came by way of Mississippi State in 2016, has been a key cog in the rise of the program, which culminated with the 2021 NCAA title.
Stump Looks to Go Out With a Bang
Friday, May 6, 2022 | Men's Tennis, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It's a popular social media tool, the ol' 'How It Started/How It's Going" post. Everyone who scrolls Facebook, Twitter or Instagram has seen it.
Tanner Stump should do one. Tanner Stump
Stump, the University of Florida men's tennis associate head coach, came to town in 2016 after two seasons as an assistant at Mississippi State. The Gators were coming off one of their better seasons in recent years, having finished second in the Southeastern Conference during the regular season, then winning the league's postseason tournament and eventually advancing to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Championships before being swept by eventual champion Virginia.
At the time, Coach Bryan Shelton had four UF seasons under his belt and was well on the way to flipping the culture and altering the Gators' status as an annual Top 20 team, but not much more.
"I actually came at a great time," Stump said this week. "The character piece was in place. That box had been checked. From there, the guys that came in would enter a culture that was set up to teach tennis, but also [to teach] a certain level of toughness we felt needed to be instilled."
That's where Stump helped put the Gators over the top. As a player at Mississippi State, Stump had a reputation as a Bulldog's bulldog. He wasn't the most skilled, but he was never going to be out-worked or out-lasted. That feistiness and willingness to scrap to the end carried over into his coaching work ethic and — every bit as important — into his recruiting.
"When he makes a call on a recruit, he's going call him that week, the week after and the week after that. If they're going to play in a tournament, he's going to call him before the tournament — 'Are you ready?' — and after it — 'How did it go? " Shelton said. "He's going to know the guy's birthday, everything about his parents, and if a brother has a basketball game that weekend he's going to know how many points the kid scored. He's just a deep-diver and that's something people don't do anymore. He's like, 'Hey Coach, you have to call this kid tonight and here are the three things to hit.' Everything is teed up for me."
This is where the "How's it going?" part comes in.
In 2021, Stump's fifth season on the sidelines, Florida won the first NCAA championship in program history. In 2022, the Gators (23-2) steamrolled through the SEC by winning both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, and Friday night will open the NCAA Championships against New Orleans (16-6) at the Ring Tennis Complex. They'll do so as the No. 2 overall seed in the 64-team field in great part because two of the team's six singles players are fifth-year seniors — with 242 combined wins between them — that were part of the first recruiting class Stump helped sign for UF and gives the Gators the deepest, most experienced, accomplished roster in the country.
"Look up and down our lineup," Stump said of a team that has 18 consecutive matches, including 18 straight doubles points. "There's nothing these guys haven't seen."
The same can be said for Stump, and will be whenever this remarkable season — and his time at Florida — wraps up. That's right, Stump is leaving UF, effective at season's end, and will exit having checked every box imaginable, from team national championship to a singles national champion (See Riffice, Sam) to the all-important relationship piece that can make the coaching profession so special.
Stump, 33, is stepping down for more family time, alongside wife Chelsea and their three children: Avi (5), Arwyn (3) and Abram (9 months). Private coaching and private business ventures are likely in his future. He may also look to use his experience as a coach to help mentor the next generation of coaches.
"It's been about 15 years in the making, this career of mine, so to move on you feel like you're leaving something behind and a career that has given you so much," Stump said. "When I got here, I had no kids. Now, I have three kids at home and it's changed a lot of dynamics with my family. My wife and I feel it's very important to be there as a father and just kind of pour into them and help set them up for success in life. I'm not getting out because I don't love what I do. I want more flexibility and freedom."
For now, though, he wants something else. A postseason run. Another one.
The 2021 charge to the NCAA crown — captured in Orlando, no less — was as exhilarating as it was rewarding for everyone associated with the Gators. Especially considering where the program was when Shelton first arrived and lost on his home court to (get this) the University of Denver in opening-round play of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
After that, Shelton's vision began to take shape and did so without any shortcuts. He pitched that vision to Stump in 2016 and it all came into glorious focus five years later.
Tanner Stump (center) has helped mentor UF's doubles pairings to 18 straight wins.
This 2022 team, top to bottom is better than last year's squad, but that doesn't mean Florida will be the one raising the hardware later this month in Champaign, Ill. It does mean the Gators very well could be, however.
So Stump will immerse himself in these final orange-and-blue moments.
"It's a melting pot of emotions," he said. "Some days I'm sad to be leaving it all behind, but there's also a mix of excitement for this group and knowing we're in this together. These are our final moments together, so we might as well go out with a bang and enjoy what we've got, which are friendships and relationships for life."
How's it going? Pretty damn well, but check back in a few weeks. Things could be even better.
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