Women’s tennis nets new coach
The women’s tennis team found itself in an unfamiliar position this summer when former head coach Richard Gallien departed at the end of last season to bring an end to his 22-year tenure at USC.
The uncertainty didn’t last too long, however, as Athletic Director Lynn Swann announced the hiring of eight-time NCAA Division III champion Alison Swain as the new women’s tennis head coach on June 7.
“We are delighted and excited to welcome Alison Swain to the Trojan Family,” Swann said. “She is a proven winner as a head coach. Winning a national championship at any level is difficult to do; winning eight of them like Alison has done in a
10-year span is beyond impressive. We are confident that she can bring the Women of Troy to that championship level.”
Swain’s .889 winning percentage (224-28) during her tenure at Williams College headlines her career track record, as well as her 48-2 mark in NCAA tournament play. She set a Division III record by leading the Ephs to eight NCAA team championships — including wins in each of her first six seasons, which tied Stanford for the most consecutive championships at any level.
During her other two seasons with the Ephs, Swain led Williams to five conference championships along with a second-place finish in the 2016 NCAA tournament and third place in 2014.
“I would first like to thank Lynn Swann, [assistant athletic director] Scott Jacobson and the entire search committee for the incredible opportunity to join the USC family,” Swain said. “USC has an exceptional athletics tradition, but more importantly the University truly values creating an overall amazing experience for its student-athletes in the classroom, on the court and beyond.”
Swain was awarded the conference Coach of the Year five times and was named top coach in the NESCAC twice between 2010 and 2013. During her time at Williams, she produced two NCAA-champion doubles teams in 2015 and 2016, two NCAA singles runners-up, 18 All-Americans, two ITA National Senior Players of the Year and an ITA National Most Improved Senior of the Year.
It was a challenge to replace a decades-long presence in the program, but Timothy Russell, CEO of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, praised Swain’s arrival.
“USC has made a triple crown appointment,” Russell said. “With Alison Swain, the Trojans have a great coach with a championship pedigree, a fabulous teacher with a proven commitment to the highest levels of academic achievement and a splendid mentor of extraordinary character.”
Swain was only the second person in NCAA history — in any division — to win an NCAA tennis team championship as a player and a coach. During her playing career at Williams, Swain co-captained the Ephs to the 2001 NCAA championship: the first in the school’s history. She claimed All-NESCAC honors and was named a Scholar-Athlete
All-American.
Swain now tries her hand at the Division I level, where she will take over a Trojan team coming off an up-and-down season. USC endured a four-match losing streak in March only to rebound by winning seven of its final nine regular-season fixtures and making a run to the Pac-12 semifinals. Swain will look to improve on the Trojans’ first-round exit to Denver in last season’s NCAA tournament.
“She has a vision and a plan for our program,” Swann said. “She is an educator and a developer of tennis players, of scholar-athletes and of women. She will create a supportive and healthy culture for our program that will lead to success in the classroom, in life and on the tennis court.”