HEAD COACH JEFF ZINN
Jeff
Zinn First Season at Penn State 231-157 CAREER RECORD CINCINNATI, 1984
Jeff Zinn enters his first season at the helm of the Penn State men’s tennis program after spending the past 15 seasons with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Zinn’s career record speaks for itself, as he posted a superb 231-157 record while at Wake Forest, including a 78-62 record in the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference. Zinn has been credited with pushing the Wake Forest team from a perennial top-75 squad to a top-25 team. He also transformed the Demon Deacons into a top tier club in the ACC and NCAA. In just 15 years, Zinn led Wake Forest to 12 NCAA tournament appearances, including the current streak of 11 straight. Before his arrival in Winston-Salem, the Deacons never made the NCAA tournament. Under Zinn’s guidance, Wake Forest finished among the top four in the ACC seven times in his last 11 years there. The Deacons reached at least the semifinals of the ACC Championships for four straight years from 2007 to 2010, the longest such streak in the school’s rich tennis history. Last season, Wake Forest posted a 14-12 record under Zinn’s watch, notching his 11th straight winning season. He led the Demon Deacons to 10 wins against nationally ranked opponents, including a 4-0 win over No. 30 Wisconsin to open the season and a 4-0 victory against No. 46 Virginia Commonwealth in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
PSU COACHING HISTORY Coach Years W-L-T William Ham (1923-27) 15-21-1 Harry Stover (1928-31) 26-19-2 Leon Schlos (1932) 1-3-1 Robert Oxreider (1936) 4-3-0 Robert E. Lake (1937) 4-6-0 Ted Roethke (1939-43) 29-25-0 Ray Dickinson (1944) 5-4-0 Sherman Fogg (1947-64) 91-106-2 Holmes Cathrall (1965-90) 280-197-2 Jan Bortner (1991- 05) 199-159-0 Bill Potoczny (2006) 19-8-0 Todd Doebler (2006-2011) 61-43-0 Jeff Zinn (2011-pres.) 0-0
4
PENN STATE 2011–12 • MEN’S TENNIS
“We are extremely pleased to welcome Jeff Zinn to the Penn State family as the head coach of our men’s tennis team,” said Director of Athletics Tim Curley. “He comes to Happy Valley from the tennis-rich tradition of the ACC and his success both within the conference and at the national level is evidence of his ability to energize a program. We believe that he will build upon the foundation we have and take us to the next level. His record speaks for itself.” Zinn has seen individuals blossom under his tutelage. In 2008, he led two players to the school’s first ever individual NCAA Championship as the duo claimed the NCAA’s Division I doubles title and became first team All-Americans. During Zinn’s 15 years at Wake, his players collected 23 AllACC honors. The school had only 12 all-conference players in the 42 years prior to his arrival. The 1984 Cincinnati graduate began his head coaching career as the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, where he was named the 1994 Sun Belt Coach of the Year and led Arkansas-Little Rock to the NCAA tournament in 1995 and 1996. He was also the 1992 Sun Belt Coach of the Year for his work with the Arkansas-Little Rock women’s team. He coached in Little Rock for six seasons, amassing a combined 133-88 record, including a 79-48 mark with the men. Zinn’s collegiate coaching career began at Northern Kentucky where he coached for one year (1990). In just one season, he led Northern Kentucky to a conference championship, earning conference Coach of the Year honors. Prior to his season at Northern Kentucky, he spent seven years as the Director of Tennis at the West Side Racquet Club in Cincinnati. An outstanding collegiate player himself, Zinn played number one singles and doubles at Eastern Kentucky and Cincinnati. Serving as the Bearcat captain, he was also named the team’s Most Valuable Player as both a junior and senior. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in ‘84. Zinn then went on to earn his master’s degree in public administration from Arkansas-Little Rock in 1994 and worked as an adjunct professor in the sociology department. He is certified by both the USPTA and the USPTR.