Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Women's Tennis Coach Lew Gerrard Resigns
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 26, 1999
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest women's tennis coach Lew Gerrard, who has led the Demon Deacons to five straight NCAA postseason appearances and national Top 25 rankings each of those years, has resigned for personal reasons, WFU director of athletics Ron Wellman has announced.
Gerrard's resignation is effective immediately. Assistant coach Brian Fleishman will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 1999 season.
Gerrard, who was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997, was in his 12th season at Wake Forest and had an overall record of 191-98. Since taking over the women's tennis program at WFU in 1988, he had experienced only one losing season. In the past four years, the Deacons have compiled a 78-28 record, including a 28-4 regular season mark in the ACC where they finished second to Duke each season.
Last year Wake Forest advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship, the school's highest finish in its five postseason appearances, and was ranked 11th nationally. Gerrard's 1995 team achieved the highest ranking ever for a Demon Deacon squad, climbing to fourth in the country.
During Gerrard's tenure, six of his players earned All-America honors and 27 were named All-ACC.
The current Wake Forest team saw its record drop to 6-7 this spring with a loss at #1-ranked Florida on Thursday, but is still ranked 17th in the country. Six of this year's seven losses have come to opponents ranked in the top 25 nationally. Wake has defeated Clemson in its only ACC outing this season and plays at Florida State Friday.
