| Jennifer Callen |
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North Carolina women's tennis head coach Jen Callen brings a winning tradition as a player and coach to her first year at the helm of the Tar Heels.
After spending two years as the head coach at Dartmouth College, Callen was named UNC's fourth women’s tennis head coach on July 25, 2001.
Callen replaced Carolina alumnus Roland Thornqvist, who resigned to become the head coach at Florida after three years at the helm of the Tar Heels.
"I am truly honored to have been chosen as the head women's tennis coach at the University of North Carolina," Callen says. "It is exciting to be a part of a university with such a tremendous reputation for athletic and academic excellence. Furthermore, I am looking forward to enhancing the development of the UNC women's tennis program and its student-athletes."
UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour looks to Callen's youth and reputation to help lead the Tar Heels to victory.
"We're thrilled with the hiring of Jen Callen," Baddour says. "We were impressed as to how highly recommended she came from many people who we contacted. We believe Jen has the credentials to be one of the rising young stars amongst women's collegiate tennis coaches."
Callen is still active as a tennis player and won the 2000 ITA coaches convention singles and doubles championship in Florida.
Callen, who earned a psychology degree from Virginia, took over the Dartmouth program in August 1999. She was the assistant coach at Harvard from August 1997 to August 1999 and the volunteer assistant at Boston College in 1996.
While she was an assistant at Harvard, the Crimson won Ivy League championships in 1998 and 1999. Callen inherited a senior-dominated team in her first year at Dartmouth in 2000 and guided the Big Green to wins against the likes of Harvard, Yale, Brown, Syracuse and Boston College. The 2000 Dartmouth team went 10-8 overall and 4-3 in Ivy League play. This 2001 team was 7-12 overall and 2-5 in the Ivy League after suffering massive graduation losses.
Callen competed as a professional tennis player for over three years from June 1994-August 1997. She competed worldwide on the Women's Tennis Association tour, attaining high ranks of #450 in singles and #505 in doubles. Callen defeated several top 200 players during her career. She reached the finals of a satellite tournament and took home a victory in a doubles satellite tournament in 1996.
Callen played collegiately at Virginia from 1990-94 and was named first-team All-ACC in 1993 and 1994. As a sophomore, junior and senior, she was ranked in the Top 20 nationally in singles and in 1993 she finished the season as the top-ranked singles player in the NCAA East Region. Her highest ranking came as the number eight player in the country in 1993. In 1991 she won the singles and doubles titles at the Princeton Invitational and in 1992 she won the singles and doubles crowns in the Sunity Life Classic. Callen was named the Senior Player of the Year in the NCAA East Region in 1994 when she also was a finalist for the Gladys Heldman Award, which is given to the best and most well-rounded senior tennis player in the country based on leadership, academics and athletics.
She is a member of the USTA Committee for Advanced Junior Tennis (1997-present) and was co-director at the Nike Tennis Camps at Dartmouth. She was associate director of the Tennis Camps at Harvard in 1998 and 1999 and was named the USTA/NE Intersectional Coach for the Girls 18 division in 1998.
Callen's Coaching Philosophy:
"My coaching philosophy is based on creating an atmosphere that promotes mental toughness by helping players develop a strong work ethic, a positive determination and the desire to improve. It is also vital that players are in top physical condition, which can only be achieved through a comprehensive weight training and conditioning program. With a special emphasis on mental toughness and physical conditioning at UNC, I believe that players are positioned to achieve their maximum potential as student athletes. In addition, I believe open communication between coaches and players can dramatically improve the coach-player relationship and the overall dynamics of the team. My ultimate goal is to have every single player on the UNC tennis team truly love their experience as a Tar Heel. When they look back on their four years at UNC, I hope they can say it was the best four years of their lives."
