| Dwayne Hultquist |
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Under Dwayne Hutlquist's leadership, Florida State men's tennis has emerged as one of the top programs in the nation. When Hultquist took over the Florida State program in 1999, the Seminoles were struggling to compete in the state of Florida, let alone in the Atlantic Cost Conference or at the national level. A lot has changed in eight years as FSU is a player on the national scene and a staple in the NCAA Tournament with four straight appearances.
Now entering in to his eighth season at Florida State, Dwayne Hultquist continues to bring the FSU Tennis program to remarkable heights. Hultquist recorded career win No. 100 as the Seminoles advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship by defeating Auburn, 4-2. The Seminoles later fell to No. 14 Ole Miss unable to repeat a visit to the NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" final site in Palo Alto, California done the previous season.
Undoubtedly, year six in the Hultquist era was the best season in school history. For starters, the Tribe not only made their third straight appearance to the national summit, but FSU reached the 2005 NCAA Elite Eight for the first time ever. Florida State also finished with its highest-ever national ranking at No. 13 and FSU stamped its first 20-plus win season since 1995. Hultquist led his squad to an impressive 21-8 mark and a second-place finish in the ACC.
Under Hultquist's tutelage in 2005, Mat Cloer, became the school's first singles All-American and won the program's first national honor with the ITA Arthur Ashe Award.
On the Florida State career charts, the 21 wins during 2005 moved Hultquist up to fourth in all-time victories with an 89-66 ledger in six seasons.
After a few months off, Hultquist hit the ground running in the fall of 2005 and led his troop to an impressive fall campaign. For the Seminoles efforts, Florida State not only earned the school's first invitation to the 2006 USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship, but it also garnered a respectable preseason ranking of No. 11 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
In Hulquist's fifth season, FSU reach heights it hadn't scene since the mid 1990's. The Tribe's second trip to the national summit was their first back-to-back appearances since the 1997-98 campaigns and they ended the 2004 year ranked for the 11th season in a row with a 10-13 record.
Individual honors were also bountiful in 2004 with Mat Cloer claiming his second ACC Player of the Year honor, only the third time in league history that the award has gone to the same player in back-to-back years. Then-freshman Jonathas Sucupira was named to the All-ACC team, a first by an FSU rookie since 1992.
Florida State had a break-out year during Hultquist's fourth season as the 2003 squad returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 and ended the year with a 15-10 mark. The Seminoles produced their best finish in the ACC standings, taking second, while winning the ACC Indoor Doubles Champion for the second year in a row.
Individual accolades rolled in as Hultquist's former aide, Ty Braswell, was named ITA Assistant Coach of the Year. On the court, Cloer became the first Seminole to earn ACC Player of the Year honors.
With a passion for the sport of tennis, Hultquist always wanted to accomplish one thing. That one thing was the desire to become a successful Division I collegiate coach. In the summer of 1999, Hultquist's hiring as the Seminole head men's tennis coach culminated a decade-long journey to fulfill his dream.
In his first year, Hultquist brought the Seminoles a winning record of 14-10. In his second year, the men's team entered the 2001-02 season ranked No. 59 by the ITA.
Hultquist arrived at Florida State after serving eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Texas. While working under legendary coach Dave Snyder, Hultquist became known for his excellent recruiting abilities. He was also responsible for scheduling, fundraising, individualized coaching and many of the day-to-day operations of the program. While at Texas, Hultquist coached nine All-Americans, helped lead the Longhorns to six conference titles and made it to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in each of his eight years.
Hultquist began his tennis career at Penn State where he was a four-year letterman and team captain in 1986. During that same year, he was an NCAA Tournament qualifier in doubles, and earned all-conference honors in both singles and doubles. After graduating from Penn State, Hultquist turned pro, playing in the United States, Israel and Asia. During his career, Hultquist was selected to play on national teams that traveled to Korea and China for competition.
Hultquist's coaching career began when he started working with USTA in 1988. During his tenure at the USTA, he traveled with the Boy's National Team to South America as well as the Orange Bowl and Easter Bowl tournaments.
In 1991, Hultquist began his collegiate coaching career when he accepted a graduate assistant position at the University of Kentucky, where he was responsible for recruiting and co-directing the National Collegiate Indoor Team Championships.
Hultquist is married to the former Angela White. The couple has four daughters, Devan (8), Avery (6), Addison (3) and newest addition to the family, Makenzie (8 months) born in March 2006.
THE HULTQUIST FILE:
Coaching History
Head Coach, Florida State 2000-present
Assistant Coach, Texas 1992-1999
Graduate Assistant, Kentucky 1991
Honors
100+ Career Wins
Four Straight NCAA Championships
2005 NCAA Elite Eight
Highest Ever Final School Ranking (No. 13, 2005)
2006 National Indoor Championship Bid
2006 Preseason No. 11 Ranking
ITA Regional Assistant of the Year, 1997 & 1999
South West Conference Champions 1993, 94, 95
Big XII Champions 1997, 98, 99
2002&03 ACC Doubles Champion
2003&04 ACC Player of the Year
.574 Career Winning Percentage
