Simone Jardim Named Women's Tennis Head Coach
9/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 8, 2008
Simone
Simone
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Simone Jardim, a former assistant coach at the College of William and Mary, has been hired as the women's tennis head coach at Michigan State. Jardim brings an impressive and sought-after resume to MSU after serving as an assistant coach at both the College of William and Mary and Fresno State. She replaces Erica Perkins, who accepted a position with the United States Tennis (USTA) Association in July.
"We are excited to add Simone Jardim to our coaching staff," noted Athletics Director Mark Hollis. "She excelled on the court as a competitor, and then she has been highly successful as a coach and mentor in her time at Fresno State and William and Mary. We are thrilled for her to bring that expertise to Michigan State and to our student-athletes as they pursue that level of excellence."
"I'm very excited to be a part of Michigan State University athletics, and would like to thank Athletic Director Mark Hollis and Associate AD Karen Langeland for bringing me here to MSU," Jardim said. "I'm looking forward to working with these athletes and being a part of the Big Ten."
Jardim began her coaching career as interim coach at her alma mater, Fresno State, in 2004. She was later added to the staff as an assistant coach under Simon Thibodeau prior to the 2005 season. During her three years as an assistant, Fresno State compiled a 58-20 record, winning three WAC Championships and NCAA Tournament bids. In two of her three seasons, 2004 and 2006, the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals. During her first season, the Bulldogs totaled the second-highest win total in school history (22), while finishing the year ranked No. 13 nationally. In Jardim's final season as an assistant at Fresno State, the Bulldogs finished the year ranked No. 20 after compiling a 20-7 record.
Also during her tenure as an assistant at Fresno State, Jardim helped to guide a singles player and a doubles team to the NCAA title match. In 2004, Jelena Pandzic advanced to the championship in singles. Two years later, Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter garnered a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championship final.
In January of 2008, Jardim went to William and Mary where she would take over the coaching job. Her success continued with the Tribe tennis program as the team compiled a 22-3 overall record. Advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Tribe fell to No. 2 Georgia, ending the season. However, Jardim once again coached a doubles pair to the NCAA Championships as Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic advanced to the championship match against North Carolina's Jenna Long and Sara Anundsen.
Jardim spent two seasons as a plater at Fresno State after transferring from Auburn. Jardim put together an impressive run in a Bulldog uniform, posting a singles record of 52-16 and a doubles mark of 59-14; she earned All-America honors twice in doubles. Jardim teamed with Kim Niggemeyer to form the No. 1-ranked team in the nation for a time in 2001. The pair played in the NCAA Doubles Tournament in both 2001 and 2002, finishing both campaigns ranked in the top 10 nationally. Jardim was a Second-Team All-WAC selection in singles and a first-team honoree in doubles during both her seasons with the Bulldogs. She finished her senior season ranked No. 103 nationally in singles.
Fresno State was 38-11 during her two seasons of competition and finished the 2001 campaign ranked No. 14 nationally, while completing 2002 at No. 25. The Bulldogs won a WAC Championship in 2002 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament during both of Jardim's seasons. During the 2000-01 season, Fresno State was ranked as high as No. 8 in the country, which is still a program best.
A native of Santa Maria, Brazil, Jardim graduated from Fresno State in 2003 with a bachelor of arts degree in mass communications and journalism public relations.