COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Mark Weaver has been named Texas A&M women’s tennis head coach, Texas A&M Athletics Director Eric Hyman announced today.
“I am extremely grateful to our athletics director, Eric Hyman and to Marcy Girton for giving me this opportunity to be the head coach of the women’s tennis program at Texas A&M,” said Weaver, who for the past eight seasons has served as the assistant coach or associate head coach of the Aggies under previous head coaches Bobby Kleinecke and Howard Joffe. “We have an excellent team in place, and it is now my responsibility to lead our fine group of young ladies to our ultimate goal of winning championships.”
“Mark Weaver has been integral in developing a nationally prominent women’s tennis program at Texas A&M,” Hyman added. “Alongside Howard Joffe, Mark has helped our program to three top-10 finishes in the past three years. He has the respect of our student-athletes and staff. As a former Aggie men’s tennis player, he has a unique understanding of the student-athlete experience. We look forward to Mark’s leadership in our women’s tennis program.”
By being named the sixth head coach in the history of the Aggie women’s tennis program, Weaver’s career at Texas A&M has come full circle. He began his stint in Aggieland as a student-athlete and four-year standout on the Aggie men’s tennis team from 1990-94. The Shreveport, La., native then served six years as a volunteer coach for the A&M women’s team before being hired as the women’s tennis assistant coach in 2007.
“It is here, over 25 years ago, that I was recruited and played for my great friend Coach David Kent,” Weaver said. “I have been fortunate enough to work alongside two head coaches of the women’s tennis program at Texas A&M, Bobby Kleinecke and Howard Joffe. I have an enormous amount of respect for each of them and have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge from each of them over the past eight seasons.
“Texas A&M is a school built around excellence, character and integrity. I am looking forward to instilling that mindset into each of our student-athletes as they are developing and shaping their lives each and every day. I will do everything I can to help this team accomplish great things and make the 12th Man and the Aggie faithful proud of who we are and what we stand for.”
Texas A&M has advanced to the NCAA tournament every year since Kleinecke initially hired Weaver as an assistant coach in the fall of 2007. Prior to becoming the Aggies’ full-time assistant, Weaver had served as a volunteer assistant coach for the women’s team for six seasons, including 2003 and 2004 when A&M won a Big 12 Conference regular season title and a Big 12 tournament title.
Joffe was named head coach in 2012 and retained Weaver as his assistant. After two seasons as the Aggies’ skipper, Joffe promptly promoted Weaver to associate head coach following a historical 2013 season in which Texas A&M reached the NCAA championship finals for the first time in program history and received an all-time high No. 3 final ranking. In addition, Texas A&M, which captured A&M’s first Southeastern Conference regular season championship in any sport after going 12-1 in league play, finished its 2013 campaign 26-4, marking the most wins in school history. Furthermore, Aggie standout Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar became A&M’s first and only two-time All-American.
In 2014, Weaver was honored as the ITA Texas Region Assistant Coach of the Year as the Aggies finished 21-7 and No. 9 in the final ITA rankings, the second highest final ranking in school history. Texas A&M, which defeated No. 3 North Carolina during the regular season to mark the highest ranked win in school history, was eliminated by the Tar Heels in the round of 16. It marked the second consecutive year and only the third time overall the Aggies reached at least the round of the 16. Individually, senior Cristina Stancu was named All-American in singles, marking the third consecutive year a Joffe-Weaver-coached player received the distinction.
Most recently, the Aggies were No. 10 in the final 2015 Oracle/ITA National Collegiate Tennis Rankings, marking the third consecutive year as well as the third time in program history Texas A&M finished in the Top 10. The Aggies, who went 17-6 overall and tied for second place in the SEC with an 11-2 conference record, made a 16th consecutive and 21st overall appearance in the NCAA tournament and were seeded No. 10 in the 64-team field. They advanced to the NCAA Championship round of 16 for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in program history before falling to 2014 national champion and 2015 NCAA runner-up UCLA.
Individually, sophomore Saska Gavrilovska continued A&M’s recent streak of producing All-Americans by becoming Texas A&M’s first-ever underclassman to reach the NCAA Singles Championship round of 16 and also becoming the program’s first underclassman to achieve All-America distinction. In doubles, the tandem of freshman Eva Paalma and sophomore Rachel Pierson set a school record with a No. 15 showing in the final Oracle ITA Division I Women’s National Collegiate Doubles Rankings.
Weaver, who graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in psychology in 1995, was a four-year letterwinner and starter for the Aggie men’s tennis team from 1990-94. Weaver capped his collegiate career by leading the Aggies to their first Southwest Conference championship. Weaver also won the 1994 SWC No. 1 doubles title and set an A&M record with a .805 career winning percentage in doubles.
Following his collegiate career, Weaver played four years on the Futures and Challengers circuits, winning 10 doubles championships. He then served as a senior staff manager and director of tennis at Briarcrest Country Club in Bryan, Texas, from January 1999 to June 2006. Weaver went completely into private coaching in 2006, and one of his protégés, Austin Klores, became a four-time high school state champion and was ranked as high as No. 1 in the USTA Boys 18’s.
Weaver, 42, is married to the former Stephanie Wooley, a 2005 Texas A&M honor graduate. They have a daughter, Natalie Lynn, born in April 20, 2012.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M women’s tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women’s tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.
Texas A&M Woman’s Tennis Head Coaches:
Season Coach
1980 David Kent
1981-84 Jan Cannon
1985 Jan Baldwin
1986-2011 Bobby Kleinecke
2012-15 Howard Joffe
The Weaver File:
Name Mark William Weaver
Born August 4, 1972, Shreveport, La.
High School Caddo Parish Magnet
College Education B.A. in Psychology, Texas A&M University, 1995
Marital Status Married to the former Stephanie Wooley
Children Natalie Lynn Weaver (born April 20, 2012)
College Tennis Career
1990-1994 Texas A&M University
Singles Doubles
Year W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
1990-91 34-13 .723 15-8 .652
1991-92 22-13 .629 11-6 .647
1992-93 24-11 .686 20-6 .769
1993-94 27-15 .643 30-9 .769
Totals 107-52 .673 76-29 .724
Playing Honors
1991 Southwest Region Rookie of the Year
Southwest Conference No. 3 Doubles Champion
1992 All-Southwest Conference
1993 SWC Co-Player of the Year
SWC No. 1 singles champion
Junior Davis Cup participant
NCAA Championships participant (singles and doubles)
1994 SWC No. 1 doubles champion
NCAA Championships participant (singles and doubles)
Coaching Career
1999-2007 Private Coach;
Texas A&M Volunteer Assistant Coach
2007-12 Assistant Coach, Texas A&M University
2013-15 Associate Head Coach, Texas A&M University
2015- Head Coach, Texas A&M University
Coaching Honors
2014 ITA Texas Region Assistant Coach of the Year
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics