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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Jeff Clark Named Rebel Tennis Assisant Coach
8/26/2002 | Men's Tennis
Aug. 26, 2002
OXFORD, Miss. - Jeff Clark, a former player in the SEC, has been named the assistant coach for the defending SEC Western Division Champion Ole Miss men's tennis team, in an announcement made by head coach Billy Chadwick Monday. He replaces Chris Groer, who left this summer to take a job in the private sector.
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 league'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 2002 and 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.
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.
"We are excited about Jeff joining our program," Chadwick said. "I've known him as a player at Vanderbilt and as a coach at UTC. He will do an outstanding job."
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 this job.
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 was also a member of the runner-up team in the USTA National Team Tournament in Las Vegas in 1997.
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. Clark is married to the former Laura Kay Brown, and they have one child, Jefferson Clark, born January 21, 2002.