Chad Skorupka Named Head Women's Tennis Coach
7/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
July 12, 2005
Winston-Salem, N.C. - Wake Forest Director of Athletics Ron Wellman announced that Chad Skorupka, a former Demon Deacon assistant and the head coach at Yale for the past four years, has been named the head women's tennis coach.
While at Yale, Skorupka led the Bulldogs to a 58-24 overall record, including the 2002 fall ECAC Championship. Named the 2004 ITA Eastern Region Coach of the Year, he guided the Bulldogs to a 12-7 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the Ivy League, while placing four athletes on the All-Ivy League teams.
"We are really pleased that Chad is returning to Wake Forest as our women's tennis coach," said Wellman. "He did a superb job as our assistant before taking the head coaching position at Yale. I am confident that our program will rise to the top in the ACC and nationally in short order."
"I am extremely excited about returning to Wake Forest," said Skorupka. "Wake Forest is truly a great place with top-notch academics and athletics. I look forward to working with the current team and recruiting players who want to be a part of the Demon Deacon tradition."
Prior to his arrival at Yale, Skorupka was an assistant coach at Wake Forest for two years and helped guide the Demon Deacons to a 42-12 overall record and two NCAA Tournament appearances. In 2001, WFU finished with an 18-9 overall record and advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Team Championships before falling to top-ranked Stanford. In 1999-2000, Wake was ranked fifth in the nation and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Team Championship.
Prior to his stint at Wake Forest, Skorupka served as the assistant women's tennis coach at his alma mater, Penn State, for three seasons. While at Penn State, he was honored with two prestigious coaching awards - the 1998 ITA Eastern Region Assistant Coach of the Year and the 1999 USTA/Central Pennsylvania District Coach of the Year.
Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Skorupka worked for the United States Tennis Association in Indianapolis, Ind., as the Play Tennis America coordinator for the USTA/Western section, an area covering Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. He then served as the USTA's district coordinator of player development for the Middle States section, covering Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia.
Skorupka received his bachelor's degree in international politics from Penn State in 1994 and earned a master's degree in counseling education from Penn State in 1999.
At Penn State, Skorupka was a four-year starter on the men's tennis team and was part of a doubles team that won the Rolex Region I title in 1993. He reached a career-high ranking of No. 12 in doubles in the fall of 1993. Skorupka served as a team captain during the 1993-94 season and also received the school's senior award for athletic excellence.