Staff

Coaching Staff

Dwayne Hultquist—FSU Men’s Head Coach

High Performance Director
In his 12th season at the helm at Florida State, Dwayne Hultquist has put himself atop the Florida State record books and the Seminoles in the national spotlight.

Under Hultquist's leadership, Florida State men's tennis has emerged as one of the top programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the country. When Hultquist took over the Florida State program in 1999, the Seminoles were struggling to compete in the state of Florida, let alone at the Atlantic Cost Conference or national level. But in 11 seasons under Hultquist FSU has had three ACC Player of the Year recipients, three singles All-American honors and three trips to the NCAA round of 16.

For the first time in school history Florida State made back-to-back trips to the NCAA Round of 16 in 2008 and 2009. 2009 also marked the first time that the Seminoles finished the season ranked inside the top 15 in consecutive seasons (No. 13). Once again Hultquist helped direct his players to career seasons with Maciek Sykut becoming the winningest player in Florida State tennis history in both singles and overall victories. Jean-Yves Aubone also became the first player in school history to become a two-time All-American. The Noles also had three All-ACC performers for the second consecutive season with Aubone, Clint Bowles and Sykut earning those honors.

Hultquist also earned his own accolades in 2009 becoming the winningest coach in Florida State tennis history (159), surpassing his predecessor David Barron (141). With 21 victories in 2009, Hultquist won more than 20 in one season for the third time in his career and the second season in a row.

The 2008 season was a year of records for Florida State culminating in a trip to the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles achieved their highest ranking in program history at No. 7 and individually saw Jean-Yves Aubone earn the highest singles' ranking in the school's history. FSU's 21 victories marked the second time Hultquist has led his squad to a 20-win season during his tenure.

Under the direction of Hultquist, Florida State players rose to new heights in 2008 with Aubone earning singles All-American honors and along with Sam Chang and Clint Bowles All-ACC accolades. Aubone and Bowles also broke the school record for doubles victories in a single season (28).

In 2007 Hultquist led Florida State to a 17-10 record and the Seminoles received their highest ranking at No. 10 during the season. FSU also hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time in school history.

Hultquist has also proven himself as one of the best recruiters in the country. In the last two years, he has recruited some of the top high school talent in the nation, evident by Florida State's top ranked recruiting class in 2006 and the signing of one of the nation's best in Blue Chip recruit Clint Bowles.

Undoubtedly, year six in the Hultquist era was the best season in school history. For starters, the Tribe not only made their third straight trip to the national summit, but FSU reached the 2005 NCAA Elite Eight for the first time ever. Florida State also finished with its then highest-ever national ranking at No. 13 and stamped its first 20-plus win season since 1985. Hultquist led his squad to an impressive 21-8 mark and a second-place finish in the ACC. Under Hultquist's tutelage in 2005, Mat Cloer became the school's first singles' All-American and won the program's first national honor with the ITA Arthur Ashe Award.

Hultquist hit the ground running in the fall of 2005 and led his troop to an impressive fall campaign. For the Seminoles' efforts, Florida State not only earned the school's first invitation to the 2006 USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship, but also garnered a respectable preseason ranking of No. 11 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

In Hultquist's fifth season, FSU reached heights it hadn't seen since the mid 1990's. The Tribe's second trip to the national summit was their first back-to-back appearances since the 1997-98 campaigns, and they ended the 2004 year ranked for the 11th season in a row with a 10-13 record.

Individual honors were also bountiful in 2004 with Mat Cloer claiming his second ACC Player of the Year honor, only the third time in league history that the award has gone to the same player in back-to-back years. Then-freshman Jonathas Sucupira was named to the All-ACC team, a first by an FSU rookie since 1992.

Florida State had a break-out year during Hultquist's fourth season as the 2003 squad returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 and ended the year with a 15-10 mark. The Seminoles produced their best finish in the ACC standings, taking second, while winning the ACC Indoor Doubles Championship for the second year in a row.

Individual accolades rolled in as Hultquist's former aide, Ty Braswell, was named ITA Assistant Coach of the Year. On the court, Cloer became the first Seminole to earn ACC Player of the Year honors.

With a passion for the sport of tennis, Hultquist always wanted to accomplish one thing. That one thing was the desire to become a successful Division I collegiate coach. In the summer of 1999, Hultquist's hiring as the Seminole head men's tennis coach culminated a decade-long journey to fulfill his dream.

In his first year, Hultquist brought the Seminoles a winning record of 14-10. In his second year, the men's team entered the 2001-02 season ranked No. 59 by the ITA.

Hultquist arrived at Florida State after serving eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Texas. While working under legendary coach Dave Snyder, Hultquist became known for his excellent recruiting abilities. He was also responsible for scheduling, fundraising, individualized coaching and many of the day-to-day operations of the program. While at Texas, Hultquist coached nine All-Americans, helped lead the Longhorns to six conference titles and made it to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in each of his eight years.

Hultquist began his tennis career at Penn State where he was a four-year letterman and team captain in 1986. During that same year, he was an NCAA Tournament qualifier in doubles, and earned all-conference honors in both singles and doubles. After graduating from Penn State, Hultquist turned pro, playing in the United States, Israel and Asia. During his career, Hultquist was selected to play on national teams that traveled to Korea and China for competition.

Hultquist's coaching career began when he started working with USTA in 1988. During his tenure at the USTA, he traveled with the Boy's National Team to South America as well as the Orange Bowl and Easter Bowl tournaments.

In 1991, Hultquist began his collegiate coaching career when he accepted a graduate assistant position at the University of Kentucky, where he was responsible for recruiting and co-directing the National Collegiate Indoor Team Championships.

Hultquist is married to the former Angela White. The couple has four daughters, Devan (11), Avery (9), Addison (6), and Mackenzie (3).

THE HULTQUIST FILE:

Coaching History 
Head Coach, Florida State 2000-present 
Assistant Coach, Texas 1992-1999 
Graduate Assistant, Kentucky 1991 

Honors 
159 Career Wins - School Record
Seven Straight Trips To NCAA Championships 
2005, 08, 09 NCAA Round of 16
2005 NCAA Elite Eight 
Highest Ever Final School Ranking (No. 7, 2008) 
2006 & 2008 National Indoor Championship Bid 
2006 Preseason No. 11 Ranking 
ITA Regional Assistant of the Year, 1997 & 1999 
South West Conference Champions 1993, 94, 95 
Big XII Champions 1997, 98, 99 
2002 & 2003 ACC Doubles Champion
2003, 04, 09 ACC Player of the Year
Three Singles All-Americans
.605 Career Winning Percentage

Nick Crowell—FSU Associate Head Coach

High Performance Director
In his eighth year on staff at Florida State, assistant coach Nick Crowell continues to prove that he is one of the elite assistants in the country.

Over the last three summers Crowell has coached the Florida USTA Junior Under18 team and in 2010 his team won the National Team Championship at the University of Illinois. This marked the first time since 1983 that the Florida team has won this prestigious tournament. His team's performance over the #1 and #3 ranked teams was described as one of the greatest upsets in 25 years. His coaching ability made good players believe they were great and for his efforts was named the USTA Florida Junior Coach of the Year. This culminated a season in which he helped lead the Seminoles to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, the second round of the NCAA Team Tournament and a final ranking of 29th nationally.

A doubles specialist in college, Crowell helped mold several new Seminole duos in 2009. In a matter of months Crowell helped turn Jean-Yves Aubone and Vahid Mirzadeh into a top 20 ranked team who upset the No. 1-ranked duo in the country from Wake Forest. The pair also earned a trip to the NCAA Doubles Championships in College Station, Texas. Crowell also helped guide Drew Bailey and Maciek Sykut to 23 victories in 2008-09 including an upset win against the fourth-ranked team from Virginia.

In addition to his coaching duties, Crowell run the Seminole High Performance tennis camps which help mold young players into champions.

In the summer of 2008 Crowell was selected to coach Team Florida in the USTA National 18s Team Championships. Under his tutelage, Team Florida made the finals of the tournament which was their best showing in the history of the event.

After another successful campaign in 2008, Crowell was elevated to the associate coach position at FSU. In 2008 he took the duo of Jean-Yves Aubone and Clint Bowles who had never played together and turned them into Florida State's all-time record holders for double's victories in a single season (28). The pair also advanced to the second round of the NCAA doubles tournament falling one win shy of All-American honors. Crowell also worked with Drew Bailey and Brad Mixson who dominated at the No. 3 position with a 17-5 mark. The doubles point was one of the main reasons Florida State was able to advance to the round of 16 for the second time in school history.

In May 2006, Crowell was named the ITA Mideast Region Men's Tennis Assistant Coach of the Year and became a finalist for the national award.

"Nick brings a lot of dedication, energy and enthusiasm to our program," said head coach Dwayne Hultquist.

While earning All-American honors in doubles play for the Longhorns, Crowell played for current FSU head coach, Dwayne Hultquist, who was an assistant coach at the time. Since Crowell's arrival, Florida State has reached the NCAA Championships every season and shattered several team records.

The 2006 season found the Seminoles concluding the year with a respectable 18-12 record with arguably the hardest strength of schedule in the nation. Florida State's 18 wins tied as the second-most number of program victories in the last 16 seasons. FSU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship and made the school's first four-peat appearance in the Big Dance since its run of five consecutive trips from 1994-98. Crowell was a big factor in the success of Ytai Abougzir, who became the first Seminole in 12 seasons to qualify for both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship.

In 2005, Hultquist and Crowell led the Tribe to a Cinderella-run that included a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history. Florida State also finished with its highest-ever national ranking at No. 13 and stamped in the record book its first 20-plus win season since 1985.

After a few months off, the pair of Seminole coaches hit the ground running in the fall of 2005 and led their troop to an impressive fall campaign. For the Seminoles efforts, Florida State not only earned the school's first invitation to the 2006 USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship, but also garnered a respectable preseason ranking of No. 11 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

In his first year with the Seminoles during the 2004 season, FSU reached heights it hadn't seen since the mid 1990's. The Tribe's second trip to the national summit was their first back-to-back appearance since the 1997-98 campaigns and they ended the 2004 year ranked for the 11th season in a row with a 10-13 record.

Since graduating from Texas in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in sports management, Crowell has been playing professionally on the Challenger and FUTURES tours. He reached the semifinals in doubles play at the Seascape Challenger (Aptos, Calif.) and the Challenger of Dallas. Unfortunately, an injury cut his career short and he became a teaching pro at Holly Tree Country Club in Tyler, Texas.

"The thing that separated Nick from the other candidates was, not only was he a great player, being a two-time All-American, but there was the connection we had back at Texas and the success we had there," Hultquist said. "My last three years we won the Big 12 every year and Nick was a huge part of that. He understands what it means to be at a top five program."

Early in his career at Texas, Crowell established himself as one of the top doubles players in the country. During his freshman season, he teamed up with Paul Martin to advanced to the quarterfinals of the doubles draw at the NCAA Tournament, earning him his first All-American honor.

That season he also earned the Big 12 Conference and ITA Region VI Freshman of the Year awards. His rookie of the year accolade from the league would be the first of many for Crowell. Starting his sophomore year, he earned all-conference honors his last three seasons in singles and doubles.

Finishing his career just as he started it, Crowell captured his second All-American honor during his senior season as he and playing partner Michael Blue advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament. Earlier in the season, the two paired up to win the doubles title at the ITA National Indoor Tournament.

With nearly 100 doubles victories during his tenure with the Longhorns, Crowell ranks third in school history with 98 triumphs. His 29 doubles wins with Martin during 1997 still ranks in the top five. Sparked by a 35-win season in 1997, he ranks 15th on the all-time singles list.

A native of Amarillo, Texas, Crowell is married to the former Lindsey Smith of Tallahassee and two children named Brooklyn (2 years old) and Cash (newborn).

Andy Gerst —FSU Assistant Coach

Andy Gerst is in his first year with Florida State men's tennis. Along with his responsibilities with the team, he will also be the Camp Coordination for Seminole High Performance Tennis Camps working with associate coach Nick Crowell. Gerst comes to Florida State after spending last season with the No. 38 Cal Poly women's tennis team.

The Redondo Beach, Calif., native played on the ATP Tour the past two years and looks to use that experience with the team. He played two years at Washington before finishing his career at Cal Poly where he played No. 1 and No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles.