Tim Gray begins his second season as head coach of the Auburn Tiger women's tennis program. The 2005-06 season found his first team finishing with a 6-18 record, but with development and recruiting being two of Gray's strong points, the Tiger program is in good hands for the future. Gray's extensive experience and noted success at every level will be a valuable asset to reviving a program that has finished higher than 10th in the SEC just once in the last 10 years. After almost 20 years of head coaching experience at the collegiate level, Gray came to Auburn after a successful three-year stint as the head coach of Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich. There, he directed Eastern Michigan to a 41-20 mark in three years and twice led the team to the finals of the Mid-American Conference Championships. Gray's success in the MAC carried beyond just the conference championships. During Gray's tenure, he compiled a conference record of 21-6. While at Eastern Michigan, Gray showed a knack for developing players. In all three seasons at the helm, Gray had at least one all-conference player every year. His most decorated player, Victoria Domina, was a two-time first-team All-Conference selection in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Last season, Domina was the first alternate at the 2005 NCAA Championships. In 2003-04 she was named the MAC Player of the Year. Prior to his arrival at Eastern Michigan, Gray was the head men's tennis coach at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla., for seven seasons. During his tenure, Gray resurrected a program that had been reinstated in 1995, after being dropped in 1985. Gray compiled a 103-54 record and led the Mocs to seven consecutive NCAA Division II postseason appearances. Gray was named Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year twice, in 2000 and 2002, after directing the Mocs to a pair of conference titles. The Mocs' 2000 league title was their first-ever. Just three years after his arrival, Gray led Florida Southern to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships and the school's first-ever regional title in 1998. Gray's teams repeated as regional champions in 1999 and 2000, and his 2001 squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships. Beginning in 1992 Gray served as the head men's and women's tennis coach at his alma mater, Washington College in Chestertown, Md. In his four years at Washington College, Gray led the men's program to a Division III national championship in 1994, a runner-up finish in 1995 and postseason bids all four seasons. A 1986 graduate with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Washington College, Gray was a two-year member of the men's tennis team after transferring from the University of Maryland. As a senior at Washington College, Gray participated in the NCAA Division III Championships in team singles and doubles. During the summer of 2005, Gray received his master's degree in sports science from the United State Sports Academy. Prior to attending Maryland, Gray received his associate's degree from Anderson College in Anderson, S.C. A native of Greenville, S.C., Gray has two boys, Brandon and Taylor. |
 
|
|||||||||||
