Gaston Named Interim Head Coach for @MizzouTennis
7/29/2016 4:18:00 PM | Tennis
Sasha Schmid steps down to takeover at alma mater Iowa
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Tennis Associate Head Coach Colt Gaston has been named Interim Head Coach of the Mizzou program, following the news that Sasha Schmid has resigned her head coaching position to take over at her alma mater, the University of Iowa. Schmid served as head coach at Mizzou for the past five seasons (54-75 record overall), and helped oversee tremendous growth for the program as it built new facilities and transitioned into the Southeastern Conference.
Gaston completed his first season at Mizzou in 2015-16 and was largely credited with the improvement of the team that saw the Tigers enjoy their best season in more than a decade. Mizzou posted the fourth-most wins in program history, and improved to 16-12 overall, including three conference victories, after going 9-18 (0-13 in SEC play) in 2014-15. He was promoted to Associate Head coach in June, following the conclusion of the season.
"We're excited about Colt and the passion he has for teaching tennis. He has a very bright future as a coach and he is very well-respected by our team," said Executive Associate Athletic Director Mary Ann Austin, MU's tennis sport administrator. "We're pleased to give him this opportunity to guide the program and we're confident he'll keep it moving forward and build on the success he was so instrumental in this past year. We also want to thank Sasha for all of her hard work here and the great things she was able to accomplish at Mizzou. She's a special person, and will be missed, and we wish her nothing but the best as she's going home to her alma mater," Austin said.
Mizzou will conduct a national search for its next head coach, Austin said.
"I'm honored to be named the interim head coach at Mizzou," said Gaston. "The girls and I are very excited about the upcoming season and feel that the sky is the limit for this program. I want to thank Sasha for bringing me in last year and her work in putting Mizzou tennis on the map the last few years. I look forward to building upon that success and leading this great group of young women," he said.
"I would like to thank the entire Mizzou athletic department for a wonderful past six years," said Schmid. "This is certainly bittersweet, but the chance to go back to our alma mater for both my husband Jeff and I, is too much to pass up. The University of Missouri and city of Columbia have been wonderful to our family, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve at Mizzou. I especially thank the tennis team members who I have had the incredible privilege to coach and work with. Each of my players at Mizzou will forever hold a special place in my heart, and I wish Mizzou Tennis only the best in the future," she said.
For the first time since 2003, Mizzou sent a player to the NCAA Singles Tournament in 2016. Junior Bea Machado Santos (Lisbon, Portugal) received an at-large bid to the tournament after a 14-9 mark at the No. 1 position over the dual season, earning Second Team All-SEC honors. Santos also defeated six opponents ranked in the Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings this past season.
Gaston, originally from Rome, Ga., was a four-year letterwinner at LSU from 2003-08 who earned Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2006 and captured ITA Doubles All-American honors in 2007. With teammate Danny Bryan, Gaston ranked as high as No. 3 in the country in the ITA Division I Doubles rankings. Following a successful collegiate career, Gaston played professionally as a member of the Dunlop ATP traveling squad where he was ranked in the top-500 of the ATP Tour.
In 2008, Gaston began his coaching career as a High Performance Coach for Weil Tennis Academy in Ojai, Calif. From 2009-12, Gaston was as a private coach for IMG Tennis Academy and ATP/WTA. Gaston then served as the Head of Tennis for Made Scholarships and Tennis Director at ATI Tennis Academy before joining the Furman men's tennis coaching staff in 2014.
For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook (MizzouTennis), Twitter (@MizzouTennis), and Instagram (@Mizzou_Tennis).
Players Mentioned
