Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/247360
Furman Men's Tennis 2013-14 The Staff Kelly Jones Head Coach 18-29-1 (Third Year) Kelly Jones is in his third season as the Furman head men's tennis coach. Last season Jones helped the Paladins to a 9-14 overall record and 5-5 league mark, and the team reached the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament for the second-conseuctive season under Jones' tutelage. During his first season at the helm of the program, Jones led the Paladins to a 9-15-1 overall record and 5-4-1 Southern Conference mark. The team put together a four-match league winning streak mid-season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the league championship. Jones, a native of San Diego, Calif., is among the top developmental coaches globally. Over the last decade, he has coached some of the best professional tennis players in the world, including Mardy Fish, currently the top-ranked American and No. 8 player in the world, and James Blake, who has been ranked as high as fourth world-wide. His other players include two Top 20 performers, John Isner and Xavier Malisse, along with many other Top 100 performers. Prior to his coaching career, Jones established himself among the top professional tennis players on the ATP. In 1998, he reached the mixed doubles finals at Wimbledon, then won the ATP Tour Singapore singles championship in both 1989 and 1990. Jones attained a #1 doubles ranking on the ATP Tour in October of 1992, then went on to reach the doubles finals at the U.S. Open and the Australian Open that same year. The 1994 World Team Tennis Player of the Year, he also won the doubles championship on the ATP Tour at St. Polten in 1997. After retiring from professional tennis in 1998, Jones spent six years as a USTA National Coach scouting, recruiting, and developing the nation's best junior tennis players. During his collegiate career, Jones won NCAA doubles titles in 1984 and 1985, then led Pepperdine to the finals of the NCAA Championship the following year. A fourtime All-American, Jones dropped a 3-6, 6-3 7-6 match to Furman's Ned Caswell in the second round of the 1986 NCAA Tournament. Prior to his junior year at Pepperdine, he also competed as a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. In May of 2013, Jones was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. Jones is married to Tami Whitlinger-Jones, a former top WTA Tour tennis player. The couple has a 15 yearold daughter, Makenna. The Jones File •18-29-1 Career Record • 2 All-Conference Selections • 1 Southern Conference All-Freshman Team Selection • 25 SoCon Honor Roll Members • Member of the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame (2013) 2