CAITLYN WILLIAMS ANNOUNCED AS NEW UT MARTIN HEAD TENNIS COACH
1/6/2020 2:01:00 PM | Tennis
MARTIN, Tenn. – Caitlyn Williams, who achieved a national top-10 doubles ranking during her playing career at the University of Tennessee, has been named the Skyhawk head tennis coach, athletic director Kurt McGuffin announced today.
Williams becomes the ninth women's tennis coach in University of Tennessee at Martin history, replacing Dennis Taylor – who retired on Dec. 31 after 32 seasons at the helm.
"After an extensive nationwide search, we are excited to have Caitlyn join the Skyhawk family," McGuffin said. "Caitlyn's successful background as a student-athlete, familiarity with the state of Tennessee and deep family ties to the sport of tennis has prepared her well for this opportunity."
A Knoxville, Tenn. native, Williams played for the Lady Vols from 2011-15 under co-head coaches Mike Patrick and Sonia Hahn-Patrick. She compiled a 57-35 career record in doubles (.620 winning percentage) while also contributing a 29-25 singles mark (.537). She was responsible for three doubles titles and one singles championship during her time at Tennessee.
"I am very thankful for the opportunity that athletic director Kurt McGuffin has given me to coach here at UT Martin," Williams said. "I am excited to start working with the team. We will do our best to represent the university in a positive manner both on and off the court."
Williams rose as high as No. 9 in the national doubles rankings on Feb. 28, 2012 alongside her playing partner Natalie Pluskota. She concluded her illustrious collegiate career by taking part in the 2015 NCAA National Championships alongside Joanna Henderson in doubles, capping off a season where she went 17-5 in doubles.
Williams was honored by the Southeastern Conference on two different occasions. She became just the 11th Tennessee player to nab SEC Player of the Week accolades on April 9, 2014 while she also earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on March 7, 2012 – becoming only the sixth different Lady Vol to secure that title.
Off the court, Williams tallied ITA Scholar Athlete mentions in 2013 and 2015 and was a three-time SEC Honor Roll recipient (2013-15). She graduated cum laude (3.65 overall Grade Point Average) with a degree in Linguistics from Tennessee in 2015.
Williams attended Alpha Omega Academy in Knoxville, where she was hailed as a five-star blue chip recruit by TennisRecruiting.net. She was ranked as one of the top-15 high school players in the nation and was in the top-50 in the ITF Girls 18 world rankings. That came after she was the No. 1 ranked player in the United States in the Girls 16 rankings. She also took part in the 2010 Junior French Open and won a pair of WTA futures double championships, capturing titles at prestigious events held in Sumter, SC and Antalya, Turkey.
Following her collegiate graduation, Williams played professionally on the WTA Tour for one season, achieving a professional doubles ranking of #668. Since May 2017, she has served as a tennis instructor at Cedar Bluff Racquet Club in Knoxville.
Tennis has always been deep-rooted with Williams, as her family was named the Tennessee Tennis Family of the Year in 2006. Her grandfather Mike DePalmer was the head men's coach at Tennessee from 1980-94 and is enshrined in the ITA Hall of Fame. Her mother Michelle DePalmer-Williams was an All-American for the Lady Vols from 1980-84 before entering the professional ranks, ranking as high as 90th in the world on the WTA Tour. Her father Bob played tennis at Duke from 1983-87 and accrued All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors twice in his storied career. Her brother Rhyne played professionally after earning All-American accolades twice at Tennessee from 2009-11 while her sister Jennifer enjoyed an All-Big South Conference career at Birmingham Southern College from 2002-06.
Williams inherits the keys to a tradition-rich UT Martin program that has won six Ohio Valley Conference championships. She will make her collegiate head coaching debut on Monday, Jan. 20 when the Skyhawks open the 2020 spring season with matches against Memphis and Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss.
Williams becomes the ninth women's tennis coach in University of Tennessee at Martin history, replacing Dennis Taylor – who retired on Dec. 31 after 32 seasons at the helm.
"After an extensive nationwide search, we are excited to have Caitlyn join the Skyhawk family," McGuffin said. "Caitlyn's successful background as a student-athlete, familiarity with the state of Tennessee and deep family ties to the sport of tennis has prepared her well for this opportunity."
A Knoxville, Tenn. native, Williams played for the Lady Vols from 2011-15 under co-head coaches Mike Patrick and Sonia Hahn-Patrick. She compiled a 57-35 career record in doubles (.620 winning percentage) while also contributing a 29-25 singles mark (.537). She was responsible for three doubles titles and one singles championship during her time at Tennessee.
"I am very thankful for the opportunity that athletic director Kurt McGuffin has given me to coach here at UT Martin," Williams said. "I am excited to start working with the team. We will do our best to represent the university in a positive manner both on and off the court."
Williams rose as high as No. 9 in the national doubles rankings on Feb. 28, 2012 alongside her playing partner Natalie Pluskota. She concluded her illustrious collegiate career by taking part in the 2015 NCAA National Championships alongside Joanna Henderson in doubles, capping off a season where she went 17-5 in doubles.
Williams was honored by the Southeastern Conference on two different occasions. She became just the 11th Tennessee player to nab SEC Player of the Week accolades on April 9, 2014 while she also earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on March 7, 2012 – becoming only the sixth different Lady Vol to secure that title.
Off the court, Williams tallied ITA Scholar Athlete mentions in 2013 and 2015 and was a three-time SEC Honor Roll recipient (2013-15). She graduated cum laude (3.65 overall Grade Point Average) with a degree in Linguistics from Tennessee in 2015.
Williams attended Alpha Omega Academy in Knoxville, where she was hailed as a five-star blue chip recruit by TennisRecruiting.net. She was ranked as one of the top-15 high school players in the nation and was in the top-50 in the ITF Girls 18 world rankings. That came after she was the No. 1 ranked player in the United States in the Girls 16 rankings. She also took part in the 2010 Junior French Open and won a pair of WTA futures double championships, capturing titles at prestigious events held in Sumter, SC and Antalya, Turkey.
Following her collegiate graduation, Williams played professionally on the WTA Tour for one season, achieving a professional doubles ranking of #668. Since May 2017, she has served as a tennis instructor at Cedar Bluff Racquet Club in Knoxville.
Tennis has always been deep-rooted with Williams, as her family was named the Tennessee Tennis Family of the Year in 2006. Her grandfather Mike DePalmer was the head men's coach at Tennessee from 1980-94 and is enshrined in the ITA Hall of Fame. Her mother Michelle DePalmer-Williams was an All-American for the Lady Vols from 1980-84 before entering the professional ranks, ranking as high as 90th in the world on the WTA Tour. Her father Bob played tennis at Duke from 1983-87 and accrued All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors twice in his storied career. Her brother Rhyne played professionally after earning All-American accolades twice at Tennessee from 2009-11 while her sister Jennifer enjoyed an All-Big South Conference career at Birmingham Southern College from 2002-06.
Williams inherits the keys to a tradition-rich UT Martin program that has won six Ohio Valley Conference championships. She will make her collegiate head coaching debut on Monday, Jan. 20 when the Skyhawks open the 2020 spring season with matches against Memphis and Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss.
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