Tennis coach Petty has interim tag removed
April 30, 2009 · Print This Article
BY JEFF WALKER l A-J SPORTS EDITOR
Todd Petty’s dream was to coach tennis at the Division I level. He received a taste of that during the 2008-09 season, but now he can whet his appetite.
Petty had the interim tag removed from his title on Thursday as Texas Tech officially named him the head coach of the women’s program.
Petty guided the Lady Raiders to a 10-14 record after replacing Cari Groce prior to this season. Groce compiled a 59-53 record in five seasons at Tech. Her best season was 2006, when the Lady Raiders finished 14-8, 7-4 in the Big 12 Conference- the only time the Tech women finished above .500 in conference play under Groce.
Tech finished 10-14, 4-7 in Big 12 play under Petty, tying Missouri and Kansas for seventh place.
The Lady Raiders, seeded seventh in the Big 12 Women’s Championships, knocked off Oklahoma in the first round before losing to third-seeded Texas.
“Todd did a good job with our women’s tennis team this year as interim coach,” Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said in a statement released by the university. “He proved he is a good manager, and I am excited about the future of our program under Todd’s direction. He will do a really good job for the Texas Tech women’s tennis program.”
Petty was an assistant to Groce for the 2007-08 season. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Wichita Falls Rider, where he helped guide one player in 2006 to the Class 4A state singles championship. Petty’s Rider teams finished in the top five in the state rankings from 2004-06.
“This program has a lot of potential with the resources and facilities that it has,” Petty said. “I think it’s ready to pop. Hopefully, with a little push, we’ll get there, get to the point where we’re a top-25, top-30 team year in and year out and competing for a Big 12 championship.”
When Tech starts the fall season, Petty will have to replace his Nos. 1 and 6 singles players, Samantha van der Drift and Kyla Coleman, who have exhausted their eligibility.
Leading the returning class will be former Coronado standout Kelsy Garland.
“We’ve got a great group coming back,” Petty said. “We lose our bookends, but the rest were either freshmen or sophomores this year. Starting with the local product, Kelsy, we’ll probably expect her to be the captain and lead this team. We’ve also got a good recruiting class coming in, so on paper, we could be dangerous. I think we’re taking a step in the right direction.”
Part of Petty’s first recruiting class is Maria Aviles of Ecuador, who became his second signee on Thursday.
Aviles was a member of Ecuador’s Junior Fed Cup team in 2008.
To comment on this story:
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I think that Petty did do a great job with the team that he had in place. He may prove to be a great coach and a great recruiter–certainly, the top junior women’s player from Wisconsin and Aviles from Ecuador provide room to hope.
However, I wonder how far the great Gerald Myers went to search truly for a the best coach. When Groce came to TTU from the PAC 10, he said exactly the same things. She stayed five years, and the team languished.
Does he even care about women’s sports? The record with volleyball is exactly the same. A losing coach stays for years who shows no real improvement. There is absolutely NO reason that the women’s tennis team should not be a perennial top 25 team. I wish Petty the best of luck and the ladies who will play next year. Let’s just hope that Myers actually spent some time on this rather than a cursory review that showed TTU tied for seventh in the Big 12. It may be an improvement, but it is still below even mediocre, and it is far from being elite.
I couldn’t agree more with the above comment. Good luck Coach Petty as well as the rest of the coaches and players!