University of Minnesota Athletics
Thomson Receives USPTA Coaching Award
5/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Minnesota women’s tennis coach Tyler Thomson has been recognized as one of the nation’s top teaching pros by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association as the recipient of the Northern Division Women’s College Coach of the Year award.
Thomson holds a rating of Professional 1, which is the highest rating given by the USPTA. He was selected to participate in the USTA’s High Performance Continuing Education Program last summer at the U.S. Open in New York City. Thomson also participated in the program in 2006 while becoming a USPTA specialist in competitive player development.
The USPTA is the world’s largest association of tennis teaching professionals and the majority of its members are professional level and work full-time in the tennis industry. Professionals are rated at three levels according to their scores on a five-part certification exam. USPTA members range from coaches at all levels of tennis to private club and public park directors.
Thomson also teaches tennis lessons and is the co-director of the Nike Tennis Camps that are held at the University of Minnesota in June.
A former standout player at the University of Montana, Thomson recently completed his eighth season as head coach with the Gophers, leading the team to a 12-12 record during 2009. The Gophers were in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings throughout the year and finished the season ranked 69th in the country. Thomson was the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading Minnesota its only regular season conference title.
Thomson also guides a Gopher team that won the school’s top grade point average award for small women’s teams as all 13 players on the squad own at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
