Gardner-Webb University Women's Tennis

Corn guided GWU to a 9-12 record and a 2-7 mark in conference play. GWU defeated Presbyterian, 4-0 to advance to the Big South Tournament for a second-straight season. Rokia Sacko garnered All-Academic honors, and as a team, GWU was named to the ITA All-Academic Team.  His eighth team in 2013-2014 won 11 matches and saw Rokia Sacko rank among the best nationally all season long in her flight. Corns charges got off to a 7-2 start in February, highlighted by wins over Western Carolina (6-1) and USC Upstate (4-3). The squad also picked up a first-round win in the Big South Conference Tournament, hosted by GWU in Boiling Springs. During the 2012-13 season, Corn guided a resilient undermanned squad to an 8-win campaign highlighted by Gardner-Webbs first-ever Big South Conference Womens Tennis Player of the Year award-winner. Under Corns watch, Erica White capped a brilliant four-year career with an 18-3 mark at No. 1 singles, as well as a 16-3 record at No. 1 doubles alongside junior Jenny Lunde, to earn the Conferences top individual honor for womens tennis. Led by his standout senior, Corn engineered unlikely upsets over nationally-ranked Appalachian State (5-2) and Charlotte (4-3) to defend the Runnin Bulldogs home court in his seventh season in Boiling Springs. The Runnin Bulldogs enjoyed a 13-win season under Corns watch during the 2011-12 campaign. Led by a pair of 15+ winners in singles play, Alice Hopkins and Erica White, Gardner-Webb earned the the Big South Conference Tournaments No. 5 seed for the second consecutive season.  Although GWU fell to No. 4 seed Radford in the Tournaments 1st Round, Corns squad earned arguably the most successful season in his tenure in Boiling Springs. White earned All-Conference Singles honors, Hopkins was named the Big Souths Freshman of the Year, and senior Ioana Oprea landed on the the Leagues All-Academic Team. The 2010-11 season marked a drastic turnaround for Corn and Gardner-Webb womens tennis in the Big South Conference, as the Runnin Bulldgos head coach earned Big South Co-Coach of the Year honors. Under Corns direction, the Runnin Bulldogs improved to an 11-6 overall record, the best winning percentage (65%) since Corn first took over at GWU in 2006. Gardner-Webb also posted an improved 3-4 mark in Big South play, up from its 1-6 mark a year earlier. Corns postseason honor was not the only such highlight for GWU in 2011, as student-athletes Rita Gouveia (Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year) and Erica White (All-Conference Singles) were honored for outstanding seasons. In his fourth season as head coach, Corn led the Runnin Bulldogs to 12 victories, the most in one season for GWU womens tennis since becoming a Division I member in 2002.  He also guided Erica White into becoming the Big South Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, a first for the program.During his third season, which was the teams first as a member of the Big South Conference, Corn led the Runnin Bulldogs to 10 victories.  The squad entered the 2009 Big South Conference Championship as a No. 7 seed. During his second season, Corn led the Runnin Bulldogs to seven wins in the squads last year in the Atlantic Sun Conference. He coached one of the youngest teams in Division I, with the majority of his team being underclassmen. Corns team earned the No. 6 seed at the conference tournament, tying its highest seeding in the postseason tournament. In his first season as the Gardner-Webb head coach, Corn guided the squad to eight wins.. Under Corns direction, GWU reached the 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship tournament as the No. 6 seed, the programs highest seeding ever in the post-season event. In 2006-07, Corn had two players receive honors as Laura Kriett was named first-team All-Atlantic Sun and the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman team while Jenny Gomez was named as the Atlantic Suns Player of the Week for womens tennis in March. The honor was the first time in GWUs history that a female tennis player had earned the weekly honor. Corn has a legendary background in the sport of tennis, having earned All-ACC honors four times during his career at the University of North Carolina (1969-1972). The 1968 Shelby High graduate was the first person to earn a tennis scholarship at UNC and also set the schools record for wins during his career. He is also the only player in ACC history to win four individual singles championships in the league at their position. Corn graduated from North Carolina in 1972 and was the recipient of the Educational Foundations award for tennis. He captained the Tar Heels in 1971 and was co-captain in 1972. During his last three years at UNC, the Tar Heels finished 20th, 10th and fifth nationally. There is a court named for him at the Cone Tennis Center on the UNC Campus in Chapel Hill. In 2009, Corn was honored by being inducted into the North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. Corn has coached two future All-Americans and one ACC Rookie of the Year during their high school careers, as well as having guided the Raleigh Edge to the world championship finals in 1990. The players he has worked with include Tim Wilkinson (pro) and All-Americans Bryan Jones (UNC) and Peter Ayers (Duke). Both Jones and Ayers went on to earn spots on the ACCs 50th Anniversary Team after their careers ended. The Shelby, N.C., native has previously served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing & Promotions after serving as the executive director of the Bulldog Club at Gardner-Webb. Corn and his wife, Penny, have two sons, Hunter and Will.