2008 Woodie Awards
MT Tennis coach retires with National Title win
Clarence Plank
Issue date: 6/6/07 Section: Sports
Head Tennis Coach Dale Short announced after 20 years he was retiring from the Middle Tennessee back in April 20 of this year.
The season ended on a high note with his famous doubles duo of Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom winning their first National Collegiate Athletes Association Doubles Championship.
"I feel good about what we have accomplished, where the program has been," Short said. "I think most people are surprised that we have been able to take every step until recently a regional university to some degree to a national prominence."
Short took over the head coach position in 1988 and since then things have been leading up today. He leaves MT with 383 wins and 11 regular season championships and nine conference tournament titles. Adding to that list is MT first national doubles title by Born-Siljestrom.
Short is hoping to take some time off and work on his farm here in Murfreesboro. He is not going to rush out and get a job or do some private coaching.
Among his accomplishments he list winning the Ohio Valley Conference ten years in a row before moving into the Sun Belt Conference.
"[We] have [four] national champions and eight All-Americans," Short said. "There's a lot of consistent Top 25 programs in the country that maybe have one or two All-Americans."
Paul Goebel and Fred Niemeyer were his first All-Americans. The list kept growing from there with Julius Robberts, David McNamara (current assistant coach), Anthony DeLuise and Daniel Klemetz.
Short came to MT after graduating from Oakland High School in Murfreesboro in 1976. He was the state champion in cross-country and was ranked No. 6 nationally in his senior year.
In 2001 he was inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame as a player and a coach. Short has been named Coach of the Year in the OVC after he coached the team to their 10th straight regular season OVC title and ninth championship.
Short has coached the women tennis team to a 63-28 record from 1991-94. He also took the team to their highest ranking in school history in 1997. The Blue Raiders was ranked No. 4 in the nation before finishing the season at No. 17 over-all.
Short is the director of Tennessee Junior Qualifying Championships as well he served on the Tennessee Tennis Association junior Committee. Adding to his list he was a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Regional Advisory and Selection Committee. Short was the chairman of the Southeast (NCAA Region III) Coaches Committee.
There a possibility that David McNamara could get the job, but due to NCAA regulations MT has to look outside of the university for a coach before considering McNamara as the next head coach.
The season ended on a high note with his famous doubles duo of Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom winning their first National Collegiate Athletes Association Doubles Championship.
"I feel good about what we have accomplished, where the program has been," Short said. "I think most people are surprised that we have been able to take every step until recently a regional university to some degree to a national prominence."
Short took over the head coach position in 1988 and since then things have been leading up today. He leaves MT with 383 wins and 11 regular season championships and nine conference tournament titles. Adding to that list is MT first national doubles title by Born-Siljestrom.
Short is hoping to take some time off and work on his farm here in Murfreesboro. He is not going to rush out and get a job or do some private coaching.
Among his accomplishments he list winning the Ohio Valley Conference ten years in a row before moving into the Sun Belt Conference.
"[We] have [four] national champions and eight All-Americans," Short said. "There's a lot of consistent Top 25 programs in the country that maybe have one or two All-Americans."
Paul Goebel and Fred Niemeyer were his first All-Americans. The list kept growing from there with Julius Robberts, David McNamara (current assistant coach), Anthony DeLuise and Daniel Klemetz.
Short came to MT after graduating from Oakland High School in Murfreesboro in 1976. He was the state champion in cross-country and was ranked No. 6 nationally in his senior year.
In 2001 he was inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame as a player and a coach. Short has been named Coach of the Year in the OVC after he coached the team to their 10th straight regular season OVC title and ninth championship.
Short has coached the women tennis team to a 63-28 record from 1991-94. He also took the team to their highest ranking in school history in 1997. The Blue Raiders was ranked No. 4 in the nation before finishing the season at No. 17 over-all.
Short is the director of Tennessee Junior Qualifying Championships as well he served on the Tennessee Tennis Association junior Committee. Adding to his list he was a member of the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Regional Advisory and Selection Committee. Short was the chairman of the Southeast (NCAA Region III) Coaches Committee.
There a possibility that David McNamara could get the job, but due to NCAA regulations MT has to look outside of the university for a coach before considering McNamara as the next head coach.
Be the first to comment on this story