Simon Thibodeau

Title:	Head Coach
Phone:	893-3747
Email:	simon.thibodeau@athletics.ucsb.edu

Simon Thibodeau was named the women’s tennis head coach for UC Santa Barbara June 12, 2012. Thibodeau came to the Gauchos after heading the women’s tennis program at Fresno State for nine years where he accumulated six Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards.

“I had a great journey at Fresno State, but I couldn’t pass up such a great opportunity,” Thibodeau said. “This is a dream job for me. To coach in a place as beautiful as Santa Barbara and in a system with academics as great as the UC system, is perfect. I want to thank Mark (Massari) and UCSB for this tremendous opportunity.”

Thibodeau has already gained seven WAC titles; nine All-Americans; seven individual national title appearances for players under his supervision; five appearances in the Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament; the highest year-end ranking in program history and a winning percentage of .750.

While at Fresno State, Thibodeau helped the Bulldogs accumulate a record of 159-80. His teams finished five seasons ranked among the nation’s top-20, including an all-time high of 13th in 2004. In 2009, Fresno State won a school record 24 matches and finished the season ranked 16^th in the nation. In all, Thibodeau’s teams won 20 or more dual matches on five occasions.

He also brought individual attention to his players in his nine seasons at Fresno State. Melanie Gloria gained four consecutive WAC Player of the Year awards and a career high Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) ranking of No. 2 in the nation. Overall, his teams produced seven WAC Players of the Year, one ITA National Rookie of the Year, five WAC Freshmen of the Year and nine All-Americans. Nationally, his players have regularly finished ranked in the nation’s top-100 and as high as No. 4 in singles and No. 1 in doubles.

Thibodeau has coached numerous players into the NCAA Individual Championships and in 2004 one of his players, Jelena Pandzic, reached the title match. In 2005, the Bulldogs’ tandem of Lucia Sainz and Katarina Winterhalter reached the championship match in the All-American doubles competition and in 2006 they reached the NCAA doubles final. In 2006, Melanie Gloria appeared in the All-American singles championship as well as the Indoor Semifinals. Gloria paired with Tinesta Rowe reaching the NCAA doubles championship in 2008. That same year, Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova reached the NCAA doubles semifinals, the All-American final, and won the ITA Indoor doubles championship. In 2009 the doubles duo ended the season ranked No. 1 in the ITA doubles rankings and Petukhova won the All-American singles consolation.

Thibodeau’s Fresno State teams not only excelled on the court, but in the classroom as well. The Bulldogs earned ITA All-Academic Team honors five times, achieving a collective grade point average over 3.20. In 2009, the team achieved a cumulative 3.60 GPA, had five players named to the Academic All-WAC team and one to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District and All-American teams.

Before becoming a bulldog, Thibodeau was the assistant coach for the University of Arizona women’s team for three years, helping to steer the Wildcats into the ITA top-25.

Thibodeau, originally from Repentigny, Quebec, graduated from the University of Sherbrooke in 1997, where he received his bachelor’s in specialized sports science. There he worked under the Canadian Tennis Federation as a national coach for Canadian junior players, where he traveled around the world gaining an abundance of knowledge on the junior circuit. He supervised national training camps, coached members of the national junior team and assisted with the Canadian Federation Cup team.

Simon Thibodeau Through the Years

Year	School	Wins	Losses	Ranking	Conf. Finish	NCAA Finish
2003-2004	Fresno State	22	4	13	1^st	Round of 16
2004-2005	Fresno State	15	9	48	1^st	Round of 64
2005-2006	Fresno State	20	7	20	1^st	Round of 16
2006-2007	Fresno State	23	3	14	1^st	Round of 16
2007-2008	Fresno State	21	8	16	1^st	Round of 16
2008-2009	Fresno State	24	6	16	1^st	Round of 16
2009-2010	Fresno State	8	19	-	2^nd	-
2010-2011	Fresno State	11	14	67	1^st	Round of 64
2011-2012	Fresno State	14	9	57	2^nd	-
Totals	9 Seasons	159	80

Individual Honors under Simon Thibodeau

Fresno State

All-American Singles
Melanie Gloria (2007, 2008, 2009)
Anastatia Petukova (2008, 2010)
Jelena Pandzic (2004)

All-American Doubles
Lucia Saniz and Katarina Winterhalter (2006)
Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova (2008, 2009)
Tinesta Rowe and Melanie Gloria (2008)

All-WAC Singles (1^st Team)
Jelena Pandzic (2004)
Katarina Winterhalter (2005)
Melanie Gloria (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
Renata Kucerkova (2007, 2008)
Anastasia Petukhova (2008, 2009, 2010)
Marianne Jodoin (2011, 2012)

All-WAC Doubles (1^st Team)
Jelena Pandzic and Tallo (2004)
Katarina Winterhalter and Lucia Sainz (2005, 2006)
Tinesta Rowe and Melanie Gloria (2007, 2008, 2009)
Anastasia Petukhova and Renata Kucerkova (2008, 2009)
Marianne Jodoin and Pola (2011)

WAC Player of the Year
Jelena Landzic (2004)
Melanie Gloria (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
Mariannae Jodoin (2011, 2012)

WAC Freshman of the Year
Jelena Pandzic (2004)
Melanie Gloria (2006)
Renata Kucerkova (2007)
Marianne Jodoin (2011)

National Rookie of the Year
Jelena Pandzic (2004)

ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year
Melanie Gloria (2009)

ITA National Doubles Team of the Year
Renata Kucerkova & Anastasia Petukhova (2009)

WAC Coach of the Year
Simon Thibodeau (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012)

NCAA Team Results under Simon Thibodeau

Fresno State

2004
R64- def. Sacramento St. 4-3
R32- def. California 4-3
R16- lost Georgia 4-2

2005
R64- lost Oregon 4-2

2006
R64- def. Sacramento St. 4-1
R32- def. California 4-3
R16- lost Miami (Fla.) 4-2

2007
R64- def. Army 4-0
R32- def. Pepperdine 4-0
R16- lost Georgia Tech 4-2

2008
R64- def. Lamar 4-0
R32- def. Arizona State 4-1
R16- lost Northwestern 4-1

2009
R64- def. Eastern Ky. 4-0
R32- def. Illinois 4-3
R16- lost Northwestern 4-0

2011
R64- lost Notre Dame 4-0

Final Individual Ranking under Simon Thibodeau

Fresno State

2012
Marianne Jodoine 45

2011
Marianne Jodoine 42

2010
Anastasia Petukhova 19
Renata Kucerkova 97
Renata Kucercova/ Laura Pola 47

2009
Melanie Gloria 16
Anastasia Petukhova 34
Anastasia Petukhova/ Renata Kucerkova 1
Melanie Gloria/ Tinesta Rowe 23

2008
Melanie Gloria              15
Anastasia Petukhova 20
Tinesta Rowe 114
Melanie Gloria/ Tinesta Rowe 2
Anastasia Petukhova/ Renata Kucerkova 18
2007
Melanie Gloria    4
Renata Kucerkova                                                                 64
Gloria/Rowe                                                                          30

2006
Melanie Gloria 23
Katarina Winterhalter 65
Lucia Sainz/ Katarina Winterhalter 6

2005
Katarina Winterhalter 97
Katarina Winterhalter/ Lucia Sainz 34

2004
Jelena Pandzic 6
Lucia Tallo 108
Lucia Tallo/ Jelena Pandzic 23