Roland Thornqvist went 507-107 over his 23 seasons at Florida, including four NCAA titles.
Thornqvist Announces Retirement
Monday, October 7, 2024 | Women's Tennis, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida football had just won a second national championship in three seasons. This on the heels of the men's basketball team winning back-to-back NCAA titles. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley was riding high and feeling good enough about the overall program; enough to have a little fun with of few of his other coaches.
He tossed a question at Roland Thornqvist, his women's tennis coach, who already had one NCAA crown in his pocket. Roland Thornqvist
"This puts some pressure on you guys, doesn't it?" Foley goaded back in 2009.
Thornqvist offered a smile and a comeback Foley never forgot.
"That's how we like it," he said.
And that's how Thornqvist lived it for the Gators on his way to claiming multiple Southeastern Conference and NCAA championships over a 23-season tenure at UF. That came to a sudden halt Monday with the announcement he was retiring barely a month into the fall season, but three months shy to the start of the 2025 campaign.
Thornqvist broke the news to his team during a meeting early Monday. Associate head coach Jeremy Bayon, who joined the women's staff in January 2023, will take on an interim head coach role, effectively immediately, and the Gators will conduct a national search for a permanent replacement.
"I just think it's time," Thornqvist said. "It's been a wonderful 23 years and I've poured my heart and soul into this. Every morning, I get up and try to do the best for the Gators. The way I do the job is hard – I'm on the court a lot – and I think I've been a little less effective than I want be the last few years, relying more on my assistants. Like I said, it's just time."
His final UF resume will show a record of 507-107 (and winning percentage of .826) to go with 11 Southeastern Conference regular-season championships, another 10 league tournament titles and four NCAA crowns, along the way mentoring six different Gators to nine SEC Player of the Year honors.
Roland Thornqvist hoists the 2017 NCAA championship trophy at Athens, Ga.
Maybe his last few seasons haven't been up to Thornqvist's sky-high standards – one trip to the NCAA round of 16 since 2018 – but his UF legacy is cemented and the squad he'll leave behind for Bayon is in an excellent shape to contend.
"The University of Florida is incredibly grateful to Roland, who has had a remarkable tenure in Gainesville, winning national and SEC championships while representing the Gators with excellence," said UF athletic director Scott Stricklin, who was awarded the first national title of his AD career by Thornqvist's women in 2017. "We will always appreciate the lasting impact he's made on and off the court for the student-athletes and staff he's led."
Thornqvist, 54, has no plans to exit the work force. He hasn't ruled out coaching, but may also pursue a post in an athletic administrative capacity.
"Am I going to be the women's coach somewhere else and competing against the Gators? That's not in my plans," he said.
If Thornqvist opts to remain in the profession, he'll be a heckuva free agent.
"He's one of the all-time great coaches we've had here," Foley said.
And he did it from the outset while dealing with pressure-packed expectations.
When UF Hall-of-Famer Andy Brandi resigned in 2001 from the women's tennis post he'd occupied for 17 seasons, the Gators went looking to replace an icon who'd won 14 SEC titles and a trio of national championships. In Thornqvist, Foley saw a candidate who fit the UF profile at the time; a 30-something and on the rise.
His first national title, circa 2003, at just 33 years old.
Thornqvist, the Stockholm, Sweden native and first-team All-America player at North Carolina, was 26 when he got his first head job at Kansas (not exactly fertile tennis ground) and guided the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament in each of his two seasons, including a surprising run to the Sweet 16. His success there earned Thornqvist the head job at his alma mater, UNC, which he led to three NCAAs in as many seasons before the UF job came open and Foley came calling.
When the two first met, Foley was struck by Thornqvist's presence … and confidence.
"Tall, handsome, great vibe and he made it clear from the moment he walked in the room that he really wanted the job," Foley recalled. "I told him it wasn't going to be an easy gig and that he was following one of the all-time greats in Andy Brandi. He was going to have big shoes to fill and it was a challenge that could be intimidating. He told me, 'Jeremy, I want to be at a place where championships are the expectation.' The pressure was impervious to him."
In 2002, Thornqvist's first season, the Gators went 24-2 and lost to top-seeded Stanford on its home court in the NCAA finals. A year later, Florida returned the favor by defeating the mighty Cardinal in the title round at UF's Linder Stadium.
"You cannot describe the feeling of lifting that trophy on your home court with thousands of fans cheering," he said.
There would be more indescribable moments, but Thornqvist's favorite might be that unforgettable day – May 21, 2011, again facing top-ranked Stanford on the road – when firebrand sophomore Lauren Embree was down 4-0 in the decisive third set in her match at No. 2 singles against Mallory Burnette and rallied for a 7-6 tiebreaker victory that clinched the program's second NCAA title under Thornqvist.
"Somehow, she finds a way," Thornqvist said. "I've never seen a stadium empty so fast. One minute there was 2,500 there, the next minute there were just Gator fans cheering. She was our Tim Tebow."
And, like Tebow, she led the Gators to a second championship, whipping UCLA 4-0 in the finals the following season, giving Florida its first back-to-back in the sport.
Roland Thornqvist (center), with the trophy in his hand and superstar Lauren Embree to his left, celebrate the 2011 NCAA championship at Stanford.
In 2017, Florida again defeated Stanford in the finals for the program's seventh NCAA title and fourth under Thornqvist.
"One thing I always tell people when they ask what it's like to be a Gator, it's the people and the organization," he said. "The periphery of our program has always had the best medical staff, trainers, academic support, always had tremendous people surrounding our program to allow our athletes to succeed and allow them to be great when the bell rings. I'm just so grateful."
