Aug 14, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Ross Wilson, a former two-time NCAA All-American and three-time ITA national doubles champion at Ohio State, has been named the new assistant coach for the University of Iowa men’s tennis team, head coach Steve Houghton announced Wednesday.
Wilson, the 2012 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year and ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year, comes to Iowa after serving as assistant coach at nationally-ranked San Diego last year.
“This is a great hire for our program, as Ross has been a proven success at the national level both as a player and coach,” said Houghton. “I have no doubt that he will have a very positive impact on our team, both immediately, and for years to come.”
“I want to thank coach Houghton, (senior associate director of athletics) Jane Meyer, and (director of athletics) Gary Barta for the opportunity to be a part of the Hawkeye tennis program,” said Wilson. “I cannot wait to put the work in to build this team to be among the best in the Big Ten.”
Wilson was a standout at national power Ohio State from 2002-06. He was a two-time NCAA All-American and three-time ITA national doubles champion. Wilson broke the Buckeyes’ overall career wins record, career doubles wins record and single season doubles wins record in 2006. He was part of the only doubles tandem in the history of college tennis to ever win back-to-back ITA National Indoor titles (2005 and 2006) and was part of the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the nation those seasons.
Following his collegiate playing career in Columbus, Wilson played two years on the USTA Pro Circuit in 2007 and 2008, winning three ITF Pro Circuit titles. Wilson also coached at the professional level as the personal coach of Sharon Fichman, who was ranked among the top 100 women in the world on the WTA tour.
Wilson helped guide San Diego to an 18-10 overall mark and a 6-2 conference mark in 2013, as the team made its third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Wilson coached four Toreros to all-conference honors, as San Diego climbed as high as No. 26 in the ITA rankings.
Prior to joining the staff at San Diego, Wilson served as the men’s and women’s assistant coach at Kenyon College from 2010-2012. He helped guide the men’s team to their first NCAA Division III Tournament finals appearance in program history in 2012, while also helping lead the team to a No. 2 final ITA national ranking — the highest in program history. Wilson was named the 2012 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year and the ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year. He coached three singles All-Americans at Kenyon, one doubles All-American team and an NCAA Tournament singles semifinalist.