DENVER – The University of Denver has named former Iowa and Brown head coach
Paul Wardlaw the new head coach of the Pioneers' women's tennis program, Vice Chancellor for Athletics, Recreation and Ritchie Center Operations
Karlton Creech announced on Tuesday.
"We're very excited to welcome Paul to our Denver Athletics and Recreation family," Creech said. "Paul brings a wealth of high-level and successful Division I experience and has a vision to take our already successful women's tennis program to new heights in his role at DU. Paul has a great opportunity to hit the ground running with a very competitive group of returners, and we look forward to watching what he can build here in the future."
Wardlaw comes to Denver after serving as the athletic director and Director of Tennis for Dublin School, a prep school athletic department in New Hampshire. Prior to that, Wardlaw spent 14 seasons as the head women's tennis coach at Brown and seven seasons as the head women's tennis coach at Iowa.
"I am thrilled to join the Denver athletic department and have the chance to continue moving the women's tennis program forward," Wardlaw said. "I would like to thank
Karlton Creech and
Emily Boone for offering me this amazing opportunity. Given the commitment to Denver tennis, the possibilities are endless. I look forward to meeting and working with the players as we start this new journey together."
In his most recent Division I college stop at Brown, Wardlaw led the Bears to a 137-106 record in his 14 seasons, finishing nationally ranked in nine of those seasons, including as high as 29
th in the country. Wardlaw was named the 2009 ITA East Region Coach of the Year and recruited and coached three Ivy League Rookies of the Year.
At Iowa, Wardlaw took a program that finished 10
th in the Big Ten the year before his arrival to the NCAA Tournament four times, including a trip to the NCAA Round of 16 in 1999. In his tenure, the Hawkeyes were nationally ranked all seven years, peaking as high as 25
th in the country. In his seven seasons in Iowa City, Wardlaw turned in a 83-78 record.
Prior to Wardlaw's Division I coaching experience, the College of Wooster graduate (Wooster, Ohio) was the head women's tennis coach at Kenyon College (NCAA DIII/Gambier, Ohio). His teams dominated DIII women's tennis, winning three NCAA DIII National Championships (1993, 1995, 1997). While at Kenyon, Wardlaw was the 1993 ITA DIII Women's National Coach of the Year and the 2000 ITA DIII Women's Coach of the Decade.
Off the court, Wardlaw is well known for his tactical system called "Wardlaw Directionals" and his book "Pressure Tennis."
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