Sam Winterbotham Named Head Coach at Tennessee
Rather a surprise here, with today's announcement that former University of Colorado tennis coach Sam Winterbotham had been named to replace Chris Mahony at the University of Tennessee. Mahony had announced last month that he was returning to his native country, Australia, taking the position of National High Performance Academy Head Coach for Tennis Australia. Winterbotham had taken an assistant's position at Baylor after Colorado cut its men's tennis program at the end of the 2005-06 season.
All the talk I heard presumed that assistant Chris Woodruff would move up, and the Knoxville News published this article two weeks ago calling him the "leading candidate.
The university's announcement doesn't mention Woodruff.
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6 comments:
Shame on you Tennessee. You pass up one of your own, Chris Woodruff, a dedicated coach, former NCAA champion for Winterbotham? I'd pack my bags, that speaks volumes.
This is indeed sad!!!!What was Mike Hamilton (A.D.) thinking? Woodruff should have been head coach. He's a Tennessean ,also Knoxville is his hometown. Former top 10 Pro. Please does anyone know what Happened? I heard all the guys on the tennis squad really like and respect him.
It's typical that UT would pass up on an American to hire a foreigner who will recruit all foreigners like Baylor and Colorado. UT should move to Europe.
When CU, my alma mater, asked for contributions to save the program, I refused, despite being a huge fan of college tennis, because, in my opinion, american jrs. hadn't been given a chance at CU.
Whoever posted the comment that they were a former CU player and refused to donate because American players were not given a chance, shame on you. I happened to be one of the Americans who played on Coach Winterbotham's team at Colorado. First of all, there were a lack of Americans because its pretty darn hard to get top level Americans to play in a cold climate atmosphere with no indoor facility. Second of all, Sam Winterbotham is a great coach and mentor. Tennessee is lucky to have him. His players will not only succeed on the tennis court, but also in the classroom.
More than 80 collegiate programs eliminated in the past 5 years (See ITA's website - 86 programs). Why? Title IX, maybe... Lack of opportunities for American players, maybe... It's not inconceivable to me that this could lead to a situation where alumni are less likely to donate. I think alumni are generally more supportive when they know they are supporting hometown kids. And by the way, I don't buy he "Americans won't play here story." Show them the money and they will come. By the way, sadly, I believe you will see many more programs eliminated in the next few years. Why? Lack of financial support from alumni.
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