Women's Tennis
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- mclaughljw@sfasu.edu
- Phone:
- 468-1643
Jon McLaughlin is set to begin his third season in charge of the Stephen F. Austin women's tennis team during the 2017-18 academic year.
Named the Ladyjacks' head coach on August 17, 2015, McLaughlin has directed the team to 20 wins through his tenure thus far. That victory total includes 11 Southland Conference wins which have allowed his squad to advance to the Southland Conference Tournament in each of his first two seasons.
His most recent second tour of duty as the leader of the Ladyjacks resulted in a return trip to the Southland Conference Tournament as well as another collection of individual accolades for various SFA players. Sophomore Kaja Ljubic was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year in addition to her selection as an All-Southland Conference First Team Doubles player. Ljubic also received All-Southland Conference Second Team Singles acclaim and was one of six Ladyjacks who were named ITA Scholar-Athletes in 2017.
Under McLaughlin's direction, a trio of Ladyjacks collected All-Southland Conference hardware of some kind before the 2016 campaign came to a close. Freshman Liza Aginskaya earned All-SLC First Team singles recognition, senior Dhanielly Quevedo was named an All-SLC Second Team singles performer and freshman Vanesa Calvo Pardo got recognized as an All-SLC Honorable Mention singles player.
McLaughlin brought with him 15 years of coaching and teaching experience in the tennis world as arrived at SFA after spending the past season as an assistant coach at Tulane University. With the Green Wave, McLaughlin helped oversee one of the biggest turnarounds in the nation, taking a team that went 5-20 in 2014 to 17-9 in 2015.
During his season in New Orleans, McLaughlin helped guide Tulane to a second-place finish in the American Athletic Conference as the Green Wave advanced to the tournament semifinals. Tulane was ranked as high as 47th in the national tennis rankings and recorded four victories over top-75 opponents.
Prior to his time at Tulane, McLaughlin spent four years filling the role as either Director of Tennis or as the tennis professional at clubs throughout Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, including a stint as the Director of Tennis at the Striesfield Group based out of Houston.
McLaughlin spent one season at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, helping guide the Big Green to their highest program win total (16) and national ranking (37th) in program history.
Prior to his time at Dartmouth, McLaughlin spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas, helping guide the Razorbacks to a major program turnaround. Inheriting a team that had lost 42-straight SEC matches, Arkansas qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2006 as McLaughlin mentored two-time National Indoor Champion and two-time All-American Aurelija Miseviscuite.
A native of Fairfield Bay, Arkansas, McLaughlin was a four-year letterwinner at Ouachita Baptist University, helping the Tigers claim three top-five finishes at the Division I level from 1996-98 before earning his degree in business administration.
