Sasha Schmid Named Head Women's Tennis Coach

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — Former University of Iowa student-athlete and assistant coach Sasha Schmid has been named head coach of the UI women’s tennis program. The announcement was made Friday by UI director of athletics Gary Barta.
 
Schmid, a four-year letterwinner from 1992-96, is the eighth head coach in the 39-year history of the program. She was the Hawkeyes’ team MVP in 1996, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996, and earned a Juris Doctorate from the UI College of Law in 1999. She was an assistant coach at Iowa from 1997-1999, helping the Hawkeyes reach the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history, a top 25 national ranking, and a berth in the NCAA sweet sixteen.  
 
“I would like to thank Gary Barta, Mark Hankins, and the entire search committee for having the confidence in me to lead this special program,” said Schmid. “I am absolutely thrilled to return to the Hawkeyes and build on the foundation recently established by Katie Dougherty. The University of Iowa represents a return home for my family. I am humbled by the opportunity and cannot wait to get to work.”
 
“Sasha has great head coaching experience at the highest level and a strong national reputation,” said Barta. “She’s extremely excited to come back to Iowa City to coach her alma mater.”
 
Schmid returns to Iowa with 15 years of head coaching experience, including 10 years at Stetson University (2002-11) and five seasons at the University of Missouri (2012-16). Her Tiger teams were ranked nationally in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016 while competing in both the Big XII and SEC.
 
During her time at Stetson, she led the Hatters to the 2009 regular season conference title, and was a three-time Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year honoree.
 
Schmid succeeds Katie Dougherty, who resigned on July 1 to pursue opportunities closer to home and join the University of Maryland women’s tennis staff.
 

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