New USC Women’s Head Tennis Coach Alison Swain wasted little time hiring a new assistant coach as she recently tabbed Chris Wootton to help her in leading the Trojans.
Wootton arrives at Troy after most recently coaching one year at Williams College under Swain. He coached the women’s tennis team to the 2017 NCAA Division III national team championship. Wootton coached five All-Americans during his year at Williams. In the 2017 season, he coached the Ephs to a 20-4 overall record (.833). In addition to winning the national championship, Williams claimed the New England Small College Athletic Conference title for the third year in a row.
“I’m so excited to have Chris joining the USC women’s tennis staff,” Swain said in a recent press release issued by the school. “I have had the privilege of working with him for the past year. His passion, knowledge of tennis and positivity will add to the USC culture and help us continue to grow as a team.”
Said Wootton: “This is an opportunity of a lifetime. My family and I are extremely appreciative to USC and Alison Swain for the chance to be a part of the Trojan Family.”
Before coaching the Ephs, Wootton was the men’s graduate assistant for the University of Texas at Tyler, where he coached the Patriots to an 18-10 overall record and their eighth American Southwest Conference title. That season, UTT reached the Round of 16 at the NCAA Division III National Championships.
Before becoming a coach, Wootton competed for the men’s tennis team at Mississippi College (2011-13) and the University of Texas at Tyler (2013-15) where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. While competing at UTT, Wootton was named an All-American in doubles in 2015. He is the oldest All-American in NCAA history in any sport across all divisions as he earned All-American status at age 39.
Wootton taught tennis throughout the South between the years of 1995 and 2011, when he coached over 50 NCAA college tennis players and seven ATP/WTA touring pros. In 2009, he was named the Director of Tennis at a 14-court public tennis facility in Jackson, Miss.
He played professionally for six years collecting both singles and doubles wins over top 100 ATP players.
As a youth player, Wootton was ranked in the Top 25 in both singles and doubles in the Boys 18’s in the USTA in 1994. He earned the Reebok U.S. National Tennis Player of the Year Award in 1991 at the age of 15.
Wootton, age 41, is married to his wife, Robin. He has two daughters, Christiane, 19 and Isabel, 16.