Courtesy of Arizona Communications Services
TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona head women’s tennis coach Vicky Maes will step down from her position, Director of Athletics Dave Heeke announced on Thursday. Maes served as head coach for the last 17 seasons.
“Vicky will always be one of the most accomplished student-athletes in the history of Arizona women’s tennis and we would like to thank her for her service to the university as our head coach,” Heeke said.
Maes began her career at the University of Arizona as a student-athlete in 1995, where she was a four-time All-American, a four-time All-Pac-10 honoree, a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic honoree and was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1996.
Additionally, she was named to the Pac-10 All-Decade team in 1998, was the 1996 Arizona Women’s Sports Foundation College Athlete of the Year, was the nation’s top-ranked player in 1996 and 1997 and was inducted in the University of Arizona’s Hall of Fame in the fall of 2003.
Three years after finishing her college career, Maes was introduced as head coach of the Arizona women’s tennis program in October of 2001. During her tenure, She produced four All-Americans, seven All-Conference honorees in the best conference in the country and led the Wildcats to eight NCAA Tournament appearances.
“The University of Arizona is a special place. The opportunity to play and coach for this amazing institution has been one of the biggest honors of my life,” said Maes. “For 24 years, I have given my heart and soul to the tennis program and, in return, it has helped shape my values and who I am as a person. As a coach, I have always attempted to instill those same values into our student-athletes. I am proud of all of the young women who have come through our program and will always root for the next generation of Wildcats. However, it is time for me to reassess and start a new chapter in my life. I’d like to thank Jim Livengood for giving me the opportunity to lead this program all those years ago, and Becky Bell for bringing me here to play and represent the A with the utmost pride.”
Assistant coach Andrew Veeder will provide leadership for the program while a national search for a head women’s tennis coach is set to begin immediately.
