Fresno State Athletics
Thibodeau Hired as Interim Women's Tennis Coach
9/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 22, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - Simon Thibodeau has been named Fresno State's interim women's tennis coach, Athletics Director Scott Johnson announced today.
Thibodeau takes over for Kevin Epley, who on Sept. 3 resigned his position after three years to become the head coach at William and Mary College.
Prior to his departure, Epley had hired Thibodeau to serve as the Bulldogs' assistant coach.
"We are thankful to get a person of Simon's caliber to come on board to direct our program on an interim basis," said Johnson. "There is a lot of excitement about this year's team and I'm confident with Simon coaching the team they won't skip a beat."
Thibodeau comes to Fresno State from the University of Arizona, where he served as the assistant women's tennis coach for the past three seasons. While there, he was fundamental in helping lead the Wildcats from a team who's national ranking was in the 50's to two NCAA Tournament appearances a place among the nation's top 25.
In addition, from September to November in 2001, Thibodeau served as UA's interim head coach after the departure of Brad Dancer, who left to become Fresno State's men's tennis coach.
Last season, Arizona climbed as high as 21st in the country on April 23. The Wildcats eventually reached the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the second round.
A native of Repentigny, Quebec, Thibodeau was a national coach with the Canadian Tennis Federation from 1997-01, traveling around the world to tournaments and clinics. With the Canadian Tennis Federation, he supervised national training camps, coached members of the of the national junior team and assisted with the Canadian Federation Cup squad.
With the Canadian Tennis Federation, he coached such touring professionals as Helen Kelesi, Sonya Jeyaseelan, Renee Simpson, Marie-Eve Pelletier and Beier Ko. He also helped train Martina Navratilova.
Thibodeau received his bachelor's degree in science/physical activity from the University of Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1997. With this background, Thibodeau owns extensive knowledge of physical conditioning, sport psychology and sports management.
He had also begun taking classes toward a master's degree in teaching and teacher education at Arizona prior to his departure.
