TENNIS COACH

Head Coach: Ed Gonzalez

Since taking over as head coach of the women’s tennis team at SUNY Brockport in 1992, Ed Gonzalez has revitalized the sport and has made it one of the most successful women’s sports on campus. The veteran head coach has already led the team to an undefeated season – 12-0 in 1995 – and put together a 20-match win streak. Gonzalez has created a winning attitude within the program and has led the team to an 96-77-1 record in 16 seasons.

Under Gonzalez, the Golden Eagles have consistently placed individuals and doubles teams into the semifinals of the SUNYAC Championship Tournament and have produced nine SUNYAC individual or doubles champions. Additionally, the Golden Eagles have had four All-State awards earned by three singles and doubles players.

From the beginning of his tenure as head coach, Gonzalez has developed a reputation for taking young, raw talent and producing talented tennis players by the ends of their careers. He has also shown a knack for recruiting players from around New York State and combining the talent into one of the most competitive and respected teams in the SUNYAC Conference.

In his first season as head coach the team won a school record seven matches and finished third at the SUNYAC Championships. The following season, the team enjoyed similar success, posting a 5-2 regular season mark and again earning a spot in the state tournament. The third win of that second season gave Gonzalez the all-time record for coaching victories at the school.

The two best seasons were his third and fourth campaigns as the Golden Eagles rattled off an 11-2 record in 1994 and had the undefeated season at 12-0 the following fall.

The 12-0 season record, the first undefeated season in school history for any women’s team, ended with the team placing second in the SUNYAC Tournament.

In 1996, Brockport ran its winning streak to 20 matches — the second longest of any women’s team in school history — and went on to an 8-3 final record and a third-place finish at SUNYACs. The winning continued in 1997 with a 9-1 record and second-place finish at the conference championships. Despite a 4-5-1 record in 1998, the team finished strong with a second-place finish at SUNYACs.

In the 2007 season, Gonzalez led the Golden Eagles to a third-place finish at the SUNYAC Tournament and earned SUNYAC Coach of the Year honors. The squad went 6-1 in conference play and senior Ashley Balling was a Second Team All-Conference selection.

Gonzalez recruited and coached three of the best tennis players in school history with Sonja Sjaardema, Michelle and Melissa DeCoursey all being inducted into the SUNY Brockport Athletic Hall of Fame.

A 1976 graduate of SUNY Brockport, Gonzalez earned a second degree, in physical education, from his alma mater in 1982. Prior to his appointment to the team’s head coaching job, he served as the team’s assistant coach (1987 and 1988). Before Brockport, Gonzalez spent a number of years coaching boys’ and girls’ teams at the high school level, while also serving as an instructor at various camps and community centers.