Midwestern State University Men's Tennis

Linn enters his sixth season at the helm of the Midwestern State men's and women's tennis programs after guiding the Mustangs to their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015. The Mustangs have thrived under Linns tutelage and leadership as he has reconstructed a perennial winner at Midwestern State. Linn has directed the women's program to an 83-40 record (.675) in his first five seasons on campus with four NCAA II postseason appearances, reaching the round of 16 in 2013 and 2014 before a banner year in 2015 advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in program history. MSU collected its highest ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) at the conclusion of the 2015 season, coming in at No. 13 after an 18-7 campaign. After claiming its first Lone Star Conference Championship in 2014, Midwestern State recorded back-to-back titles in 2015 before making its postseason run that included a 5-1 victory over 12th-ranked California (Pa.) at the national championship site in the round of 16. The men have been every bit as good during Linn's watch, posting a 78-36 mark (.684) while advancing to the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals in 2013 and 2014 after a five-year absence from the postseason. In 2013, Linn led the Mustangs to their third LSC Championship before advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals for the second time in school history. Midwestern recorded a 5-2 win over Southwest Baptist at the NCAA championship site in the round of 16 before falling 5-0 to Armstrong Atlantic (Ga.) in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs backed up a 20-6 season in 2013 with a 19-7 campaign in 2014 and a second-straight trip to the national quarterfinals. Midwestern earned a 5-2 victory over No. 13 UC-San Diego in the round of 16 before bowing out to eventual national champion West Florida in the quarters. On the women's side, Linn has mentored one ITA South Central Region Most Improved Player of the Year (Taylor Coffman in 2015), an ITA South Central Region Player to Watch (Kayla Casey in 2014), an ITA South Central Region Rookie of the Year (Amy Clifton in 2014), three Lone Star Conference Newcomers of the Year (Rozike van Rensburg in 2011, Fatima Clementino in 2013 and Lindsay Nochowicz in 2015), an LSC Freshman of the Year (Amy Clifton in 2014), 10 All-LSC singles performers and seven All-LSC doubles tandems. The Mustangs have also been a force in the classroom, earning ITA All-Academic Team laurels three-straight seasons from 2013-15. The program has produced a pair of Capital One Academic All-District student-athletes (Kayla Casey in 2014-15 and Paige Boykin in 2015), 16 ITA Scholar-Athletes and five LSC All-Academic Team members including 2015 LSC Academic Player of the Year Kayla Casey. On the men's side, Linn has mentored one ITA South Central Region Most Improved Player (Kacper Boborykin in 2015), an ITA South Central Region Player to Watch (Boborykin in 2014), an LSC Player of the Year (Luke Joyce in 2013), two LSC Newcomers of the Year (Mario Urban in 2011 and Colby Meeks in 2012), an LSC Freshman of the Year (Kyle Davidson in 2013), seven All-LSC singles performers and four All-LSC doubles tandems. The MSU men have also excelled in the classroom with ITA All-Academic Team status in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The program has produced four Capital One Academic All-District student-athletes (Vjekoslav Stipanic and Bo Zaputovic in 2011 and Kacper Boborykin and Ramon Toyos in 2015), an LSC Academic Player of the Year (Stipanic in 2011), 16 ITA Scholar-Athletes and four LSC All-Academic Team members. Linn's leadership has also left a mark on his players with Joyce earning the prestigious ITA Division II Arthur Ashe Award for sportsmanship and leadership in 2013 after joining Lindsey Holcomb as South Central Region Ashe Award recipients in 2012. Linn is also highly effective in grooming young, talented coaches as two of his assistant coaches earning ITA South Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors over the past four seasons including current Metro State head coach Daniel Hangstefer in 2013 and Joyce in 2014. Overall, Linn has posted a 180-109 record (.623) in 12 seasons as a women's collegiate head coach, while notching a 220-146 mark (.601) in 15 years directing men's collegiate programs through the 2014-15 academic year.   Linn has enjoyed a distinguished 20-year coaching career as he was named the 2015 Wilson/ITA South Central Region Mens Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to a 16-6 record and a No. 1 ranking in the region. Linn also captured United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Coach of the Year honors in 2008 and was selected as the Florida Sun Conference's top coach during his five-year stay at NAIA Embry-Riddle from 1999-04. Linn helped Indiana to three-straight winning campaigns during his three-year stint with the Hoosiers while mentoring Lachlan Ferguson to an All-Big 10 campaign in 2008-09 after enjoying a solid three-year run as the top man at Florida Southern. Linn led the Moccasins' men's tennis program to three consecutive NCAA Division II Southeast Region postseason appearances from 2004-07 which included a pair of regional finalists showings in 2006 and 2007. His Florida Southern squads completed each of its seasons ranked in the top 15 nationally and boasted NCAA II's No. 3-ranked singles performer (Michael Knoedler) in 2007. He mentored three ITA All-Americans during his stay in Lakeland, Fla. Linns FSC squads also showed strength in the classroom as six of his student-athletes were named ITA Scholars and the team was just one of 10 Division II squads to earn ITA All-Academic Team recognition for achieving a team GPA higher than 3.20. Prior to arriving at Florida Southern in 2005, Linn molded the Embry-Riddle men's and women's teams into a force at the NAIA level. In his five seasons, he guided both squads to the NAIA national tournament each year while posting an 81-52 record (.609) on the men's side and an 89-49 mark (.645) with the women. Linn, who kicked off his coaching career as an assistant at East Central (Okla.) from 1995-97, was selected to start the men's and women's tennis programs at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma from 1997-99. He quickly turned the Drovers into winners, turning a first-year men's record of 4-17 to a 10-9 showing the next season, while spinning the women to an 11-8 second-year record following a 3-12 inaugural showing. A 1995 graduate of East Central, Linn was a four-year player and two-year captain for the Tigers. He received his bachelor's degree in mass communications and the earned his master's degree in human resource administration in 1997 from ECU. Linn and his wife, Amy, have a son, Austin (13), and two daughters, Sydney (11) and Alexis (7).