Entering his seventh season at the helm of the Auburn women[apos]s tennis team, head coach Tim Gray has quickly turned the Tiger program into one to take notice of throughout the Southeastern Conference and nationally. Gray[apos]s teams and players have generated results that would have been unthinkable prior to him taking over the program nearly five years ago.
Under Gray[apos]s tutelage, Fani Chifchieva became the first Auburn tennis player to be named All-SEC four times as she earned an at-large bid to the NCAA championships in 2010. She advanced all the way to the round of 32 before bowing out - a fitting cap to a season where the Tigers faced 10 squads that received NCAA berths. In addition, the program picked up wins over top 25-ranked South Carolina and Ole Miss, along with a victory over a third tournament team in TCU.
Overall, Auburn posted a 9-11 mark for the 2009-10 season.
In 2008-09, Gray led the Tigers to one of the top seasons in program history, as the Tigers, who peaked at No.25 in the ITA National Rankings as a team, also boasted three athletes in the national individual rankings as well. Chifchieva, a junior, headlined the individual rankings, as she wrapped up the season with a No. 6 individual ranking, becoming Auburn[apos]s first three-time All-American in history.
Also cracking the ITA National Rankings were a pair of seniors in Whitney Chappell and Alex Haney, who ended the season ranked as the No. 15 doubles pair in the nation. Haney also was ranked No. 26 at the end of the year with a 17-2 regular season mark, and was 10-0 in her final regular season matches earning herself South Region Senior-of-the-Year by the ITA. Haney, along with Chifchieva, were both named to the All-SEC First Team for their efforts on the season. The year was capped off by more history, as the trio made their way to College Station, Texas for NCAA Nationals, which marked the second year in a row that the Tigers sent three athletes to the National Championships.
The Tigers wrapped up the regular season with a No. 31 and an 11-11 overall mark to go along with a 3-7 SEC ledger.
A year earlier in 2007-08, the same trio of Tigers returned to the NCAA Championships and all three came home to Auburn as All-Americans. Gray guided No. 11 Chifchieva to the individual semifinals and the 10th-ranked duo of Haney and Koning into the round of 16. Chifchieva was unanimously voted First-Team All-SEC and named SEC Player of the Year. Haney received her second All-SEC nod by landing on the first team. Not only have Gray[apos]s efforts been visible in team competition, but also in the play of individuals. For the first time in Auburn history, the Tigers had an All-American in 2007. A year later, three players returned from the NCAA Championships with the decorated honor.
During her redshirt freshman season in 2006-07, Chifchieva put together a 17-7, 8-3 SEC rookie campaign and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships. Wrapping up the season as the No. 16 individual player nationally, Chifchieva garnered All-American accolades, the first in Auburn women[apos]s tennis history. She was also was named ITA South Region Freshman of the Year and was a First-Team All-SEC pick.
Gray[apos]s accomplishments were not limited to Chifchieva in 2006-07; the 13th ranked doubles team of Alex Haney and Melissa Koning also qualified for a spot in the NCAA Championships. In singles action, Haney posted a 20-5, 10-1 record and earned Second-Team All-SEC honors. It had been five years since an Auburn player had been recognized by the conference.
Gray arrived on the Plains in 2005 and took hold of a team that was 6-15 the season prior. In three years, Gray and his Tigers have claimed a share of the SEC West title, advanced to the second round in the SEC and NCAA Championships and broken into the national rankings. As a team in 2008, Gray lead Auburn to a 17-10 overall record and 5-6 in SEC action. His squad upended No. 26 Arkansas 4-3 on the road to open the SEC schedule and knocked off No. 15 TCU 4-3 at home. The Tigers were listed among the top 50 teams throughout the entire season in the ITA team rankings, peaking at No. 27.
After almost 20 years of head coaching experience at the collegiate level, Gray came to Auburn after a successful three-year stint as the head coach of Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich. There, he directed Eastern Michigan to a 41-20 mark in three years and twice led the team to the finals of the Mid-American Conference Championships. In three years, Gray compiled a 21-6 record in conference play.
While at Eastern Michigan, Gray showed a knack for developing players. In all three seasons at the helm, Gray had at least one all-conference player every year. His most decorated player, Victoria Domina, was a two-time first-team all-conference selection during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Domina was the first alternate at the 2005 NCAA Championships. In 2003-04 she was named the MAC Player of the Year. Gray was the head men[apos]s tennis coach at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla., for seven seasons before heading to Eastern Michigan. During his tenure, Gray resurrected a program that had been reinstated in 1995, after being dropped in 1985. Gray compiled a 103-54 record and led the Mocs to seven consecutive NCAA Division II postseason appearances.
Gray was named Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2002, after directing the Mocs to a pair of conference titles, including the program[apos]s first-ever league title in 2000.
Three years into his tenure, Gray led Florida Southern to a third-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships and the school[apos]s first-ever regional title in 1998. Gray[apos]s teams repeated as regional champions in 1999 and 2000, and his 2001 squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
Gray began his coaching career in 1987 as an assistant coach at Widener University before serving as the head men[apos]s and women[apos]s tennis coach at his alma mater, Washington College in 1991. In his four years at Washington College, Gray led the men[apos]s program to a Division III national championship in 1994, a runner-up finish in 1995 and postseason bids all four seasons.
A 1986 graduate with a bachelor[apos]s degree in philosophy from Washington College, Gray was a two-year member of the men[apos]s tennis team after transferring from the University of Maryland. As a senior at Washington College, Gray participated in the NCAA Division III Championships in team singles and doubles.
During the summer of 2005, Gray received his master[apos]s degree in sports science from the United States Sports Academy. Prior to attending Maryland, Gray received his associate[apos]s degree from Anderson College in Anderson, S.C.
Gray, a native of Greenville, S.C., wed the former Christine Franek in the summer of 2008. He has two sons, Brandon (21) and Taylor (20).