Head Coach Nancy Harris Honored By the United States Tennis Association

Dec. 2, 2004

Nancy Harris, the head coach of the Tiger women’s tennis team, will be recognized as the 2004 USTA South Carolina Coach-of-the-Year on Saturday, Dec. 4 after leading the program to its most successful season in history last year. Clemson finished the 2003-04 season with a 26-4 overall record and a #5 ranking in the final ITA poll. The team advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first women’s program to reach the final four of an NCAA event in Clemson athletics history.

Harris was named the 2003-04 ITA Southeast Region Coach-of-the-Year and also notched her first ACC regular season and tournament championship titles last season. Players Julie Coin and Alix Lacelarie earned conference honors as the ACC Player-of-the-Year and ACC Tournament MVP, respectively. Harris also coached Coin to the Final Four of the NCAA Singles Tournament and an All America honor.

In seven seasons as the head coach at Clemson, Harris boasts a 96-72 overall record and has led the Tigers to five NCAA Tournament appearances. The team has been nationally ranked in the final poll five times in her tenure at Clemson.

Before coming to Clemson, Harris coached both the men’s and women’s programs at Auburn University in Montgomery. She compiled a 198-47 record over nine years and received the National Coach-of-the-Year Award five times (1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997).

Harris and the Tigers have high expectations for the 2004-05 season as they return seven letterwinners from last year’s squad (Julie Coin, Alix Lacelarie, Richele LeSaldo , Ioana Paun and Gabrielle Solek-Tefft). Newcomer Romy Farah is also expected to contribute significantly as her performance this fall indicated.