University of Southern Indiana Men's Tennis

Crawford '05 enters his eighth season at the helm of the University of Southern Indiana men's tennis team after leading the Screaming Eagles to the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament for the seventh consecutive year in 2015-16. Crawford's squads have been especially dominant in the Great Lakes Valley Conference since he took the helm in 2009-10. The Eagles have only lost four regular season conference matches since he took over the program in 2009-10, and have posted a 34-4 league mark (an .895 winning percentage) over that same period.   The Eagles continued their winning ways in 2015-16, posting a 17-6 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the GLVC. Crawford directed the Eagles to a second place finish in the GLVC Tournament and an appearance in the NCAA II Tournament, ending the year ranked 38th nationally.  The 2014-15 Eagles and Crawford advanced to the NCAA II regional tournament after posting a 15-7 overall mark and a 5-1 record in the GLVC East Division. USI concluded the year ranked 32nd nationally after a season-high of 25th.  In 2013-14, Crawford's Eagles finished 19-8 overall, 5-1 in GLVC play, and advanced to within one win of the NCAA II National Championship round. USI, which ranked as high as No. 22, nationally, in the ITA Top 50 poll, finished the year ranked No. 30. Crawford was named the GLVC Coach of the Year for the second time in 2012-13 after leading USI to its sixth GLVC Tournament championship and its first NCAA II Midwest Preliminary Round title. The Eagles finished the season in the first round of the NCAA II Championships with a 17-4 overall record and won their third GLVC East Division crown in the last four years with a perfect 5-0 conference record. USI also ranked No. 26 final poll.    The 2011-12 season was nearly a record-breaker as the Eagles concluded the year with a 21-4 mark, just one win shy of tying the school single-season record. USI also won the GLVC East Division with a perfect 5-0 mark and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the third-straight year and were ranked No. 41 in the final poll. In 2010-11, Crawford led the Eagles to a 15-8 overall record and second-place finish in the GLVC East Division with a 4-1 mark. The Eagles also finished second in a GLVC Tournament that included an upset of No. 16 Drury University and were ranked No. 35 in the final national poll. Crawford became the fourth head coach in the history of the USI men's tennis program in 2009-10 and led the Eagles to within a set of the NCAA II National Championship round. In that first season, Crawford's Eagles were 20-5 overall and 5-0 in the GLVC East Division. USI also took second in the GLVC Tournament during Crawford's first season as the rookie head coach was named GLVC Coach of the Year. The 20 wins in the 2009-10 season were the most by a first-year USI men's tennis coach. A 2005 USI graduate with a bachelors degree in physical education, Crawford returned to the Screaming Eagles program after four years as a professional tennis instructor at Healthplex Sports Club in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also was a tennis instructor at Advantage Court and Fitness in Evansville, Indiana, for two years while completing his undergraduate degree. Crawford was a standout on the USI mens tennis team during his four seasons as an Eagle. He still holds the USI single-season record for most combined wins in a season (28 singles/24 doubles in 2001), had 123 career victories (58 singles and 75 doubles), and was named All-GLVC in 2002. The native of Jeffersonville, Indiana, also was member of the USI squads that won four straight GLVC championships (1999-2002) and made three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2000-02). Crawford and his wife, Jill, have three children, Olivia, Emerson, and Ty.  

Chris Crawford '05 enters his 17th season at the helm of the USI men's tennis team after leading the Screaming Eagles to the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Tournament in eight straight seasons (2010-2017). Crawford is the all-time winningest coach in men’s tennis history with 190 wins. In 2022, Crawford took the reigns of the women's tennis program after succeeding Keely Porter, the longest-tenured and winningest coach in women's tennis history. In 2024-25, Crawford was named Horizon League Coach of the Year after guiding the men's squad to the program's first conference tournament appearance on the NCAA DI level. The honor marks his third career coach of the year award but first in NCAA DI. The men earned huge conference victories over Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech after going winless in conference in 2024. The women lost in the OVC quarterfinals after winning one conference match.  In 2023-24, Crawford led the women's team to a massive seven-win regular season improvement, going 11-11 overall and 4-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. He also coached the women to the programs first NCAA Division I Conference tournament win, beating Eastern Illinois University. The women also earned two All-OVC second team conference honors and the OVC Freshman of the Year. The men's team finished 5-14 overall and 0-5 in Horizon league play.  In his first season as head coach for both programs and NCAA Division I, Crawford led the women's team to a 4-15 finish and 0-5 in OVC play. He was able to coach Lauren Rowe and Rachel McCorkle to an OVC Doubles Partners of the Week honor in February. The Eagles qualified for the OVC Championship as the sixth seed. Crawford led the men's team to a 7-14 finish and 3-6 in Horizon League play. The Eagles finished in fourth in the South Division of the Horizon League, barely missing the postseason.    In 2021-22, the Eagles finished the year 10-10, 0-6 in the GLVC to finish seventh in the GLVC East division. Crawford coached Spencer Blandford into a record book finish, landing him in the top-15 in career singles wins (11th), doubles wins (9th), and combined wins (13th). Crawford's squads have been especially dominant in the Great Lakes Valley Conference since he took the helm in 2009-10. The Eagles have only lost 20 regular season conference matches since he took over the program and have posted a 46-20 league mark (an .696 winning percentage). USI appeared in the GLVC Tournament for the 13th-straight season in 2018-19 after placing fourth in the East Division. The Eagles posted a 2-3 league mark and 11-13 record overall.  The Eagles reached the GLVC semi-finals for the third time in the last four seasons during 2017-18 after producing a 9-13 overall mark and a 3-2 record in the league regular season. USI reached 15-or-more wins for the eighth-straight season in 2016-17 after finishing with a 16-11 record and a 4-2 mark in the GLVC. The Eagles also advanced to the GLVC Tournament and the NCAA II Tournament.  The Eagles continued their winning ways in 2015-16, posting a 17-6 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the GLVC. Crawford directed the Eagles to a second-place finish in the GLVC Tournament and an appearance in the NCAA II Tournament, ending the year ranked 38th nationally.  The 2014-15 Eagles and Crawford advanced to the NCAA II regional tournament after posting a 15-7 overall mark and a 5-1 record in the GLVC East Division. USI concluded the year ranked 32nd nationally after a season-high of 25th.  In 2013-14, Crawford's Eagles finished 19-8 overall, 5-1 in GLVC play, and advanced to within one win of the NCAA II National Championship round. USI, which ranked as high as No. 22, nationally, in the ITA Top 50 poll, finished the year ranked No. 30. Crawford was named the GLVC Coach of the Year for the second time in 2012-13 after leading USI to its sixth GLVC Tournament championship and its first NCAA II Midwest Preliminary Round title. The Eagles finished the season in the first round of the NCAA II Championships with a 17-4 overall record and won their third GLVC East Division crown in the last four years with a perfect 5-0 conference record. USI also ranked No. 26 final poll.  The 2011-12 season was nearly a record-breaker as the Eagles concluded the year with a 21-4 mark, just one win shy of tying the school single-season record. USI also won the GLVC East Division with a perfect 5-0 mark and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the third-straight year and were ranked No. 41 in the final poll. In 2010-11, Crawford led the Eagles to a 15-8 overall record and second-place finish in the GLVC East Division with a 4-1 mark. The Eagles also finished second in a GLVC Tournament that included an upset of No. 16 Drury University and were ranked No. 35 in the final national poll. Crawford became the fourth head coach in the history of the USI men's tennis program in 2009-10 and led the Eagles to within a set of the NCAA II National Championship round. In that first season, Crawford's Eagles were 20-5 overall and 5-0 in the GLVC East Division. USI also took second in the GLVC Tournament during Crawford's first season as the rookie head coach and was named GLVC Coach of the Year. The 20 wins in the 2009-10 season were the most by a first-year USI men's tennis coach. A 2005 USI graduate with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, Crawford returned to the Screaming Eagles program after four years as a professional tennis instructor at Healthplex Sports Club in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also was a tennis instructor at Advantage Court and Fitness in Evansville, Indiana, for two years while completing his undergraduate degree. Crawford was a standout on the USI men’s tennis team during his four seasons as an Eagle. He still holds the USI single-season record for most combined wins in a season (28 singles/24 doubles in 2001), had 123 career victories (58 singles and 75 doubles), and was named All-GLVC in 2002. The native of Jeffersonville, Indiana, also was a member of the USI squads that won four straight GLVC championships (1999-2002) and made three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2000-02). Crawford and his wife, Jill, have three children, Olivia, Emerson, and Ty.   Crawford at USI (men) Year Overall Record GLVC Record GLVC Place 2009-10 20-  5 5-0 2nd 2010-11 15-  8 4-1 2nd 2011-12 21-  4 5-0 3rd 2012-13 17-  4 5-0 GLVC Champion 2013-14 19-  8 5-1 3rd 2014-15     15-  7 5-1 3rd 2015-16 17-  6 5-1 2nd 2016-17 16-11 4-2 3rd GLVC East 2017-18   9-13 3-2  2nd GLVC East  2018-19 11-13 2-3 4th GLVC East 2019-20   5-  4** NA Season cut short by COVID-19 2020-21   8-  6 3-3     Tied 4th GLVC East 2021-22 10-10 0-6 7th GLVC East 2022-23 7-14 3-6 (HL) 4th HL South Division 2023-24 5-14 0-5 (HL) 6th HL South Division 2024-25 5-10 2-2 (HL) 3rd HL South Division TOTAL     200-137 (.593) 51-33 (.607)      Crawford at USI (women) Year Overall Record OVC Record OVC Place 2022-23 4-15 0-5 6th 2023-24 11-11 4-2 3rd 2024-25 1-14 1-5 7th TOTAL     16-40 (.286) 5-12 (.294)  

Jacob Weiss joined the USI Men's and Women's Tennis programs as the assistant coach in August of 2025.    Weiss joins USI after a four-year stint at Trine University (Angola, Indiana) as the assistant men’s and women’s tennis coach (2021-25). During his time with the Thunder, he helped lead the men’s team to a 45-32 four-year record and the program’s first conference regular-season title (2024), while helping guide the women’s team to a 43-31 mark.   The Thunder’s men’s team had nine first and second-team All-MIAA awards, in addition to the women’s team’s earning four first and second-team conference honors.   Weiss also coached at Richmond High School (Richmond, Indiana), helping guide the Red Devils in the 2021 spring season as an assistant coach. Weiss graduated from Trine in the spring of 2020, where he was a standout player for the Thunder’s men’s tennis team. He tallied 32 wins in doubles action, 27 wins in singles play, and recorded a four-year .548 winning percentage.