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Chris Hoover began his coaching career in 1986 and since then has continued his tradition of excellence through the years by molding and sculpting his players to achieve maximum performance. While beginning his tenure at ISU in 1994, he has gone on to be named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year five times. He has also led his team to five of the last nine Missouri Valley Conference championships. Hoover and the Redbirds finished the 2009-2010 season with an overall record of 18-6 and 6-1 in the Valley. The Redbirds finished second in the conference, making it the 13th time over Hoover's 16 years that the Redbirds have finished in the conference's top-three spots. During the 2008-09 season, the Redbirds accumulated an overall record of 14-10 and 6-4 in the Valley. The Redbirds placed third in the conference and senior Tanja Hrovatic was named to the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete First Team. In the 2007-08 season, the Redbirds continued their march of success with an overall record of 13-10 with a 7-3 MVC mark. On the academic front, the team set a school record for grade-point average (GPA) with a 3.66. Once again, Hoover led his team to another winning season during 2006-07 with a record of 13-9 overall and 7-3 in conference play. The team was also recognized by the NCAA for its perfect Academic Progress Rate (APR), and the team earned the highest GPA of all 10 women's sports at Illinois State for the 17th time with a 3.4 fall semester. The 2005-06 season was only more proof of how well Hoover leads his team. With an overall season record of 14-7 and a 9-2 conference record, Hoover and the Redbirds won their fourth-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference title and fell just short of their fifth-straight NCAA appearance. The fall season of 2005 saw the Redbirds earn seven Valley individual championships, proving that under Hoover's guidance, championship seasons have become the standard that each women's tennis squad strives to reach. The 2003-04 season was no different, as the `Birds dominated the Valley with a perfect 12-0 record for the third time in school history to win the regular-season crown outright. ISU then earned first place in the conference tournament. Over the last 10 years, the `Birds have posted perfect conference records in 2001, 2003 and 2004, each time winning the regular-season title outright. Under Hoover's guidance, the duo of Alesia Mikalayeva and Liina Suurvarik competed in doubles at the 2002 NCAA Championship. In 2003, Suurvarik also competed in singles, where she attained an ITA national-rank of 30. Mikalayeva and Suurvarik also won the 2001 ITA Omni Hotel Midwest Regional Championship and ranked 13th nationally in 2002. Another characteristic that contributes to Hoover's success is his meticulous recruiting style. He has recruited four Valley Freshmen of the Year, including Emilie Sechaud, Laura Gravino, Suurvarik and Mikalayeva. Hoover recruited and coached Suurvarik, who graduated from Illinois State and went to receive her MBA. She began her professional tennis career in February 2005 and reached a WTA rank of 599. Hoover played an instrumental role in bringing legendary tennis coach Nick Bolletteiri to Bloomington-Normal prior to the start of the 2003 spring season. Bolletteiri has coached some of the world's greatest tennis players, including William Sampras, Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. Hoover and Bolletteiri have worked together in the past during the summer of 1992. Bolletteiri hosted clinics for both adults and juniors and worked closely with the Redbird men's and women's tennis teams. In 1996, Hoover started directing the Redbird Summer Tennis Academy. May of 2009 marked the 13th successful summer of the academy. From 1995-98, Hoover captained the middle Illinois Junior Wrightman Cup team, which finished near the top each year while winning the Sportsmanship Award in 1997. During this time, Hoover also raised over $100,000 to help the Illinois State women's tennis program rise to regional and national prominence. In addition, Hoover contributes to the International Advisory Staff for Wilson Tennis, and has also conducted numerous tennis clinics abroad with the Professional Coaches Association (PCA). In 1998, Hoover was a guest speaker, and led a discussion panel, at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Coaches Convention. His discussion focused on recruitment and fundraising, two aspects of college coaching he considers "key ingredients to longevity in this business." Hoover got his start in collegiate tennis as a walk-on for the Aggies of New Mexico State. He started teaching tennis at the Oakment Country Club in Pittsburgh, Pa. Then he took a teaching position in St. Louis, Mo., at the Forest Lake Tennis Club where he caught the coaching bug. It was there that he established an elite traveling team of juniors in addition to guiding the USTA Volvo 2.5 women's team to the 1991 National Championship. The Redbirds were familiar with Hoover before he came to ISU in 1994, he was an assistant coach at conference rival, Creighton, for both their men's and women's tennis team. Ed Hubb, head coach of Creighton, received his first and only coach of the year award while Hoover was coaching with him. Also, in the time that Hoover assisted at Creighton, both teams set numerous records, including earning the highest conference standing for both the men's and women's tennis teams. Hoover and his wife, Susan, have two children: Addison, 24, and Kelsey, 20. As Addison finished his college career at the University of Dayton in 2009, Kelsey is a sophomore at Illinois State where she is majoring in history education. |
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