Tennis will enter the spring season with a new head coach hailing from Fresno Pacific, graduating from a Division II background upon his arrival to GW Athletics.
George Rodriguez, who coached Fresno Pacific’s men’s and women’s tennis teams for two seasons, took the helm of GW’s coaching staff last month as the Colonials look to build upon their A-10 Championship caliber play from last spring. Rodriguez led the Sunbirds women’s team to a 16-10 record that led them to the PacWest Tennis Championships, where they placed third in the league of 13 teams – their best run in program history.
“I’d like to thank Tanya Vogel and Andy Ruge for the confidence and trust they have in me to lead the GW women’s tennis program,” Rodriguez said in the release. “The pride, excitement and the warmth of the people at GW makes it an amazing place. I’m beyond excited to be joining the GW family!”
The Colonials finished with an 11-10 record last season, entering the A-10 Championship before falling 4–3 to No. 3 Fordham in Orlando. The team registered a .442 winning percentage in the singles category and a .371 percentage for doubles.
GW Athletics Director Tanya Vogel announced that former tennis Head Coach Torrie Browning departed GW in May after coaching the team for the past six seasons, citing “other professional opportunities.”
Rodriguez spent the past two seasons with the Sunbirds, earning Wilson ITA Coach of the Year honors for the West region this spring. During his first season in 2020 at Fresno, Rodriguez led the women’s program to a 7-10 regular season record before they finished in sixth place at the PacWest Tennis Championships.
Vogel attributed the search that ultimately selected Rodriguez to Andy Ruge, GW’s senior associate athletics director for external operations.
“I want to thank Andy Ruge for running a competitive search, and I am extremely excited to welcome George to GW,” Vogel said in the release. “His experience at Fresno Pacific is one exhibit of his commitment to student-athlete success on and off the court. George has the energy, enthusiasm and experience to lead our talented women’s tennis program to be a top competitor in the Atlantic 10.”
Rodriguez served as an assistant coach and interim head coach at Grand Valley State in 2019, where he was named ITA Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year after guiding the women’s team to an 18-3 record.
Rodriguez began his tennis career at Ferris State University, where he played with the men’s tennis program for four years, leading the team to the GLIAC Conference Championship during his senior season.