Fresno State Athletics
Women's Soccer Head Coach Peter Reynaud Resigns
1/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Jan. 30, 2001
FRESNO,Calif. - Fresno State head women's soccer coach Peter Reynaud has resigned from his position effective immediately and has accepted the same position at Long Beach State, athletics director Al Bohl announced today. Bohl also announced former assistant coach Stacy Welp has been named interim head coach and will remain in that capacity through the 2001 season when a search will be conducted.
Reynaud has been the women's soccer team's head coach since the program's inception six years ago, totaling a 63-56-8 record. He led the Bulldogs to their best season ever in 1999, guiding the team to a 14-6-2 record, the WAC regular season championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament. He was selected the WAC coach of the year for his efforts. Last season, Fresno State went 11-9 and lost in the semifinals of the WAC championships. Under Reynaud's tutelage, nine different Bulldogs were named All-WAC while three received All-Region accolades.
"Peter has been a tremendous asset to our women's soccer program and the athletics department," Bohl said. "He took a new program and guided it to the point where it can challenge for the WAC title and a spot in the NCAA tournament on an annual basis. We thank him for his years of service and wish him nothing but the best at Long Beach State. At the same time, we are excited to have Stacy Welp take over. She played a vital part in the team's success the past two years, and as the assistant to Peter, provides a sense of continuity heading into the 2001 season."
Welp has served as the Bulldogs' assistant coach for the past two seasons. Prior to coming to Fresno State, she spent three seasons as the assistant coach at Clemson, which she helped lead to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including a spot in the Elite Eight in 1997.
Before Clemson, Welp was a graduate assistant coach at Utah, working primarily with the goalkeepers. She also worked on the Olympic Development Program (ODP) staff for Region II, assisting the goalkeeping director and participating in the evaluation and selection of Region II ODP teams for all age groups.
Welp graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1994 with a degree in anthropology. She played for the Golden Hurricane from 1990-93 and was named the team's captain and Most Valuable Player in 1993. She was a member of the 1993 NSCAA All-South Region first team and was awarded the 1994 Ultimate Student-Athlete award by the university. Welp was also a member of the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival south team.
She holds an "A" license from the United States Soccer Federation and her NSCAA Advanced National Coaching Diploma. Welp currently serves on the Region IV ODP staff as an assistant coach with the Under-15 program.
"This is a very pleasant surprise for me," Welp said. "This is a great place to begin my head coaching career. I am excited to continue the great success Peter has achieved here. I expect to increase our recognition on a regional and national level by being successful on those levels. I expect us to contend for the No. 1 spot in the WAC on an annual basis. There is no reason why we can not make Fresno State a nationally and regionally recognized program. We have the players and schedule to make this vision a reality."
