University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Lise Gregory Named Head Men's & Women's Tennis Coach at UNC Asheville
07.03.2007 | Women's Tennis
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville Athletics Director Janet Cone announced today at an afternoon press conference that former Florida State head coach and professional tennis player Lise Gregory has been named as the Bulldogs new head men's and women's tennis coach upon approval of the school's Board of Trustees. She replaces Larry Hubbard who stepped down in May.
It will be Gregory's second tour of duty with the UNC Asheville program. She served as an assistant during the 2004-05 season and helped guide the women's team to an 11-8 overall record. It was just the second winning season for the Bulldog program in the last 18 years.
"This is a great day for our tennis program," stated Cone. "We are very excited about hiring Lise who brings incredible experience to UNC Asheville. Lise did a sensational job as the women's head coach at Florida State both on and off the court. In addition, she enjoyed a marvelous professional career.
"We were very impressed with the job she did with our women's program in the 2004-05 season," added Cone. "When our coaching job opened up this time, we were hoping Lise would be interested. She will add so much to our programs with her experience."
Gregory lived in Asheville during the 2004-05 year before moving on to Vanderbilt where she served as Director of Facilities and Operations for one year.
Gregory was the head coach at Florida State for eight years from 1996 until 2004. She enjoyed tremendous success both on and off the court at Florida State.
Over her eight years at FSU, the Seminoles made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament and earned seven straight Golden Torch Awards - an honor bestowed on the Florida State team with the highest GPA. Gregory has the highest winning percentage in FSU women's tennis coaching history, with a career record of 119-83 for a .589 winning percentage. Gregory is the all-time winningest women's tennis coach at FSU and the only 100 match winner.
FSU's best season under Gregory came in 1998-99 when it placed three players on the All-ACC team for the first time in school history. The Seminoles won 118 of 168 matches that season. She was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in 1999. Lise also earned another Coach of the Year honors in 2004.
As a player at Miami, Gregory earned an amazing seven NCAA All-America honors for her singles and doubles play as well as an NCAA doubles' championship in 1986 with teammate Ronni Reis. The duo compiled an impressive 84-10 record over four years, while Miami was consistently ranked among the nation's Top Five. Gregory was named to Tennis Magazine's All-Star team in both 1986 and 1987.
As a professional, Gregory won nine tournament titles in 16 finals appearances, including seven Virginia Slims doubles championships on the way to a career-high No. 18 world doubles ranking in 1990. She also won the singles at the $25,000 Challenger in Philadelphia in 1987. Gregory was a doubles quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, a Grand Slam event, as well as one of the top eight teams in the world that participated in the year-ending Virginia Slims Championship.
