Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/247360
Furman Men's Tennis 2013-14 Tanner Stump Tanner Stump is entering his first season as the men's tennis assistant coach at Furman. Prior to his time with the Paladins, Stump served as the assistant men's tennis coach at Middle Tennessee State for two seasons. During the spring 2012 season, he helped guide the Blue Raiders to their second-consecutive Sun Belt tournament title and 11th NCAA Tournament appearance. Middle Tennessee State notched wins over seven nationally ranked opponents en route to a 19-7 overall record, the most wins for the program since 1997. The team repeated the feat in 2013, boasting a 19-8 overall record and reaching the finals of the Sun Belt Championship. "I am thrilled to be joining the Furman men's tennis program and am grateful for the opportunity," said Stump at the time of his hiring. "I hope to add to the storied tradition already in place at Furman and assist our student-athletes in improving both on and off the court. Coach Jones and I both have high expectations for this program, and, while there is hard work ahead of us, it is exciting to see the possibilities."' In his two seasons at Middle Tennessee State, the Blue Raiders improved from a ranking of #140 nationally in 2011 to ranking 34th nationally in 2013. The Blue Raiders placed two players on the All-Sun Belt Conference Team in 2012 and five players on the 2013 all-conference team, while boasting the highest men's team GPA on campus. In addition to coaching, Stump also played an intricate part in the recruiting process, landing six highly-ranked recruits, and assisted in fund raising for the Blue Raiders new indoor facility. Stump, a native of Bradenton, Fla., earned a bachelor's degree in business from Mississippi State in 2011. A four-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs, he helped Mississippi State to a top-20 ranking and the Bulldogs' first SEC West title his senior season. A member of the SEC All-Academic Honor Roll from 2007-11, Stump was honored with the Newsom ScholarAthlete Award, which is given annually to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on each team, as a junior and senior. Stump, who was chosen to the SEC Men's Tennis Community Service Team as a junior, compiled multiple ranked doubles wins over his career. Stump is married to the former Chelsea Taylor, also of Bradenton. The Staff Assistant Coach Mississippi State Tami Whitlinger-Jones Volunteer Assistant Coach Stanford Tami Whitlinger-Jones, the wife of Paladin head coach Kelly Jones, is in her second season as the team's volunteer assistant coach. Whitlinger-Jones comes from one of America's great tennis families, the Whitlinger's, from Neenah, Wis. Growing up in a small town Whitlinger-Jones and her twin sister Teri were developed by their grandfather Warren "Baba" Whitlinger. They trained in a one-court facility that was an old barn converted into an indoor tennis court. With "Baba's" guidance, Whitlinger-Jones became one of the United States best junior players. She won six USTA National Junior titles and was the nation's #1 ranked junior in both singles and doubles. She received a full scholarship to play at Stanford, where she played #1 singles and was instrumental in Stanford's back-to-back NCAA Team Championships. After two successful years at Stanford, WhitlingerJones left the collegiate game to pursue her dream of a professional tennis career. Whitlinger-Jones played nine years on the WTA Tour, competing in 38 grand slam tournaments, winning three tour titles, and achieving a ranking as high as #41. Whitlinger-Jones also had several wins over Top 10 players. In 1997, Whitlinger-Jones retired from professional tennis when she became pregnant with her daughter Makenna, now 14 years old. While enjoying motherhood, Tami has continued to stay involved in the game of tennis. She became Director of Tennis for Four Bridges Country Club in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, where she began to focus herself on training and developing junior players. In 2003, Whitlinger-Jones relocated to Tampa, Fla. While in Tampa, she coached privately and trained high-performance junior tennis players. For the past several years Whitlinger-Jones has been helping her husband build their very successful Tennis Family Consulting business. 3