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Men's Tennis
When Ole Miss head coach Billy Chadwick searched for a candidate to fill the vacated position of assistant coach, he wanted a proven winner who could add to the success of the men's program. It didn't take long.
Jeff Clark, a former player in the SEC, is in his fourth year as the assistant coach for the two-time defending SEC Champion Rebels.
Last year, Clark helped coach the Rebels to the NCAA Final Four, their second consecutive overall SEC Championship, their fourth straight SEC Western Division title and a final national ranking of No. 3. He coached one All-American and three All-SEC players.
In 2004, Clark helped coach the Rebels to the overall SEC Championship, the SEC Western Division title and a final national ranking of No. 5. He coached one All-American and three All-SEC players. He guided the Rebels' No. 5 and 6 players (both freshman) to a combined record of 15-4 in the SEC and several huge wins during the season.
In his first season (2003) with the program, Clark helped guide the Rebels to the SEC Western Division title, a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight and a final national ranking of No. 8. He coached two All-Americans and four All-SEC honorees. He helped the Rebels' No. 5 and 6 players post a combined 14-7 record in the SEC and post several huge wins during the season.
Prior to Ole Miss, Clark spent three seasons as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's head tennis coach of both the men's and women's programs from 1999-2001. He led the Mocs to the Southern Conference Tournament title in 2000. The team earned the university's first-ever automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals and took on Tennessee in Knoxville.
He also guided the Mocs to the Tournament finals in 1999 and the Lady Mocs to the runner-up spot in 2000. The women's program earned recognition as an ITA All-Academic Team in 2001 and produced five ITA Scholar-Athletes in three years. The Lady Mocs boasted the highest GPA of all UTC athletic teams from 1999-2001. In addition, three of his players won the league's sportsmanship award in 2000 and 2001.
In three years as head coach of both programs, Clark compiled an impressive winning percentage of .603 with an 85-56 record. He achieved a 43-28 record with the men's team and a 42-28 mark with the women's team.
Clark coached four singles players and four doubles teams to All-Conference honors and helped bring the 2000 men's and women's Southern Conference Championships to Chattanooga. He recruited and coached Jason Ontog, the 2001 SoCon Player of the Year, to an ITA national ranking in 2000.
Prior to becoming the head coach at UTC, Clark served as an assistant coach for both programs from 1997-98. He helped coach the men's team to the 1998 Southern Conference tournament title and the women's team to a runner-up finish in the tournament.
Clark left UTC after the 2001 season to work for the Bethlehem Center, a school and sports facility for inner-city youth in Chattanooga and served in that capacity until accepting the assistant coaching position at Ole Miss.
As a collegiate player at Vanderbilt University, Clark served as team captain his senior year (1995) and led the Commodores to the school's first ever NCAA Regional. He earned Academic All-SEC honors three years.
Following his collegiate career, he played briefly overseas. In 1995, he was a finalist at the Irish National Indoor Championships in singles and doubles. Clark also played club tennis in Germany for TC Philippsburg in 1997 and 1998.
He graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Vanderbilt in 1995 and earned his Masters of Arts in English Literature in 2001 from UTC. Clark is married to the former Laura Kay Brown, and they have two children, Peter Jefferson, (4) and Sara Caroline, (1).
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