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Jeff Wallace, Head Coach
As the nation’s winningest active women’s tennis coach, Jeff Wallace has built the Georgia Bulldogs into one of the most elite programs in all of women’s collegiate tennis. Following a success playing career that saw him earning a SEC singles title in 1985 under Coach Dan Magill, the Portland native jumped right into coaching the following season. His first season saw immediate success as he took a team with a losing record to a 20-9 record and earning a spot in the final Volvo Tennis/ITCA Top 25 poll. It would only be another year before Wallace found himself in his first National Championship match where ultimately, the team fell just short, but it would not be long before the Bulldogs began to see the consistent success it has shown during the Wallace Era. In fact through 2021, Wallace has tallied 773 career victories, which ranks second in women’s tennis history for Division I women’s tennis coaches. The 2021 season marked his 36th year with the Bulldogs, and he guided the team to their 31st overall top 10 finish including the 17th time they concluded the year with a top five national ranking. The 2021 team posted a 23-2 record, going a perfect 13-0 to win the Southeastern Conference regular season title and then claimed the SEC Tournament crown by registering three shutouts. The Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships. A trio of players earned a total of four All-America honors including senior Katarina Jokic who was a finalist for the Honda Award. Additionally, the team finished with the highest Grade Point Average of any Georgia women’s sport for the spring semester of 2021 with a 3.57 mark. In 2020, before the cancelation of the spring season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia was on their way to another successful season being ranked in the top-10, reaching as high as No. 2 in the ITA Rankings. Georgia qualified for the ITA National Indoor Tournament once again in Chicago, Ill. and began conference play undefeated. Most notably, Wallace reached a new milestone with the last match played before the cancelation being his 750th win. The 2019 season saw a Bulldog team that enjoyed tremendous success. Georgia captured its sixth indoors National Championship defeating defending champions North Carolina and earned a SEC Regular Season Championship, but fell just short of the NCAA Championship in May, falling to Stanford and finished the season with a No. 2 overall ranking. 2019 also saw another Bulldog be crowned as National Player of the Year. The 2018 season marked another successful year for the Bulldogs highlighted by an elite eight appearance in the program’s 32nd-consective NCAA appearance and a No. 7 ITA final ranking with an 18-7 record. The year came with its fair share of milestones. On February 9, Wallace reached the 700-win plateau with a 4-2 win over Texas in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Later in the season, Wallace tied his mentor and former coach, Magill, in career wins (706) and entered 2019 with 714 victories. Additionally, another Bulldog became a first-time All-American capping a SEC Freshman of the Year campaign. In 2016 and 2017, Georgia finished with a No. 7 and No. 6 ITA final ranking, respectively, while six Bulldogs earned All-America honors. Wallace led a youthful Georgia squad in 2015 to a 24-7 record and the program’s 11th trip to the NCAA Final Four. The Bulldogs sported a roster with five freshmen and only three upperclassmen, but Georgia put up an impressive record, reaching the SEC Tournament Championship and making its deepest run in the NCAA Tournament since 2009. In 2014, Wallace garnered ITA Regional Coach of the Year honors after the Bulldogs enjoyed another banner season, going 24-5 with a final ranking of No. 4. Georgia captured the SEC Tournament title, the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed for the first time in school history, advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals plus saw the top duo of Lauren Herring and Maho Kowase reach the NCAA Doubles Finals Wallace became one of three coaches in women’s tennis history to reach the 600-win plateau in 2013. He is one of five active collegiate tennis coaches with at least 600 wins, and is one of five UGA coaches to reach the mark. In 2009 following another memorable campaign when Georgia advanced to its 10th NCAA Final Four, Wallace became the first person to ever be named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Coach of the Year four times. The 2010 season featured Chelsey Gullickson winning the NCAA singles title at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Wallace’s teams are the picture of consistency. Only once during his time as coach of the Bulldogs has the team missed the NCAA Tournament, and that was his first year in 1986.
NCAA Champions
The 1994 season ranks as one of the most dominant ever in women’s tennis history. The 1994 season saw one of the best records in Bulldog history with a 27-2 overall record including a perfect 14-0 SEC mark. Wallace was named coach of the year and Georgia was crowned champion in every major team tournament possible. They were USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Champions, SEC regular season and tournament champions and capped it off with their first NCAA National Championship in front their home crowd in Athens, Ga. The 2000 Bulldogs saw equal success going 27-2, and winning the Southeastern Conference title. The NCAA National Championship was played on the campus of Pepperdine where Georgia defeated the defending National Champion Stanford Cardinal 5-4, snapping a 48-match winning streak of theirs and earning Wallace his fourth National Championship, second NCAA Title. Wallace was later named the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year.
Coaching 1986-present
USTA/ITA National Team Indoors
Under Wallace, the Bulldogs have been among the most successful teams at the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The annual event attracts the nation’s finest programs where the Bulldogs have found consistent play. Georgia has won the Indoor National Title four times with the latest coming in 2019. There, Georgia would go on to capture its sixth National Championship and its fourth indoor defeating defending National Champions North Carolina 4-3.
Developing Talent
In his 36 seasons at the helm of the program, Wallace has had a proven track record of taking even the most talented recruits and taking them to new heights. On the courts, his players have earned nine National Individual Championships, five in singles and four doubles. He has also coached two Honda Award Winners, two National Players of the Year, three National Seniors of the Year. Bringing in talent and getting them to reach their potential is something Wallace has been known for as well as shown by the eight Regional Rookies of the Year and in 2020 he saw his fifth straight earn that distinction. Success off the courts is something Wallace takes great pride in as well. He has seen 55 Bulldogs selected to the SEC Honor Roll 121 times, 15 SEC First Year Academic Honor Roll recipients and 33 ITA-Scholar Athletes. Many of Wallace’s teams have been named ITA All-Academic Teams as well. A native of Portland, Oregon, Wallace is married to the former Sabina Marie Horne. They have two children, Brittany and Jarryd. • Winningest active coach in collegiate women’s tennis. • Six National Championships (2 NCAA, 4 Indoor) • 12 NCAA Final Fours • 34-Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances • 19 SEC Conference Championships (8 Tournament, 11 Reg. Season) • 14-Time Coach of the Year (4 Regional, 4 National, 6 SEC) • Two Honda Award Winners (M. Catlin, A. Lettiere) • Two College Tennis Players of the Year (K. Jokic, A. Lettiere) • 41 All-Americans with 117 honors • 33 ITA-Scholar Athletes • 55 Bulldogs selected to SEC Honor Roll 121 times
Personal
• Married to the former Sabina Marie Horne • They have two children: Brittany and Jarryd • Born July 22, 1960, in Portland, Oregon • Graduated from The University of Georgia, 1985
Left to right: Brittany, her husband Chris and daughters Collins and Hazel, Jeff and his wife Sabina, Jarryd and his wife Lea and son Levi.
Proven success
Career Coaching record
Year W L Pct. Ranking NCAA Finish
1986 20 9 .690 No. 22 ----1987 26 5 .840 No. 6 National Finalist 1988 22 7 .759 No. 7 Quarterfinalist 1989 24 4 .857 No. 4 Semifinalist 1990 23 4 .852 No. 6 Quarterfinalist 1991 25 5 .833 No. 4 Semifinalist 1992 22 6 .786 No. 5 Quarterfinalist 1993 20 6 .769 No. 6 Quarterfinalist
1994 27 2 .931 No. 1 National Champions
1995 23 4 .852 No. 3 Semifinalist 1996 13 14 .481 No. 14 Round of 32 1997 18 5 .783 No. 6 Round of 16 1998 21 5 .791 No. 4 Semifinalist 1999 24 4 .857 No. 5 Quarterfinalist
2000 27 2 .931 No. 1 National Champions
2001 23 5 .821 No. 5 Semifinalist 2002 26 2 .929 No. 3 Semifinalist 2003 19 5 .792 No. 7 Quarterfinalist 2004 20 5 .800 No. 7 Quarterfinalist 2005 18 8 .692 No. 9 Quarterfinalist 2006 13 10 .565 No. 25 Round of 32 2007 24 2 .923 No. 4 Quarterfinals 2008 22 5 .815 No. 8 Round of 16 2009 27 3 .900 No. 3 Semifinalist 2010 13 9 .591 No.18 Round of 32 2011 19 5 .792 No. 8 Quarterfinalist 2012 24 5 .852 No. 6 Quarterfinalist 2013 24 4 .857 No. 5 Quarterfinalist 2014 24 5 .852 No. 4 Quarterfinalist 2015 24 7 .774 No. 5 Semifinalist 2016 22 5 .815 No. 7 Round of 16 2017 19 6 .760 No. 6 Round of 16 2018 18 7 .600 No. 7 Quarterfinalist 2019 28 2 .933 No. 2 National Finalists 2020* 8 2 .800 N/A Canceled 2021 23 3 .920 No. 3 Quarterfinalist
