Alisha Woodroof Named New Women's Tennis Coach
8/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Aug. 26, 2003
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University has announced the hiring of Alisha Woodroof as the Bulldogs new women's tennis coach. Woodroof will join the Gonzaga staff in late August and hit the ground running as Gonzaga opens fall play on September 19-20 in the WSU Cougar Tennis Classic.
A former All-American tennis player at the University of North Carolina, Woodroof comes to Gonzaga after one season as the head coach of the University of Texas at El Paso. She posted a 15-13 record as the Miners head coach with her 2002 squad posting a 13-7 record, the second best winning percentage in school history as the Miners opened the season at 10-2.
A native of Southern California, Woodroof was a four-year letterwinner at UNC from 1989-93 earning a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1993. She earned All-America honors in 1992 and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary Team in September 2002. The former Alisha Portnoy, she teamed with Cinda Gurney to win back-to-back ACC No. 1 doubles titles in 1992 and 1993. The duo also won the ITA National Clay Court Championship doubles title in 1992. She finished her career as the ACC Student-Athlete of the Year in 1993 after earning All-ACC honors.
Woodroof started her coaching career as a volunteer tennis coach at UCLA in September 1996. During her two years on the Bruins staff, UCLA won two NCAA Championships in 1997 and 1998. In 1999 Woodroof returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach where she helped UNC climb to No. 6 in the national rankings. Woodroof also coached Tar Heels All-American Marlene Mejia during her two-year stay in Chapel Hill. In July of 2001 she was named head coach at UTEP.
