Jennifer Hyde enters her tenth season at the helm of the Florida State program. Hyde has led the Seminoles to seven straight NCAA appearances, including their first ever Sweet 16 in 2010. With an exceptional list of accomplishments and milestones from her career at FSU, including an honor of ITA South Region Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2007, Hyde looks to guide the Seminoles deep into the NCAA tournament in 2014.
For the third time in school history and second time while leading the Seminoles, Hyde lead FSU into the 2013 ACC Championship match after defeating Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia en route to the final against Miami. During that run, the Seminoles defeated the Tigers for the first time since 2001 in a match that saw well over five hours of play.
In addition, Daneika Borthwick earned All-ACC honors while helping the team to a 16-10 overall record.
At the start of the 2012-13 season, Hyde led five Seminoles to the Riviera/ITA-All-American Championships - the most to ever qualify for the event in Los Angeles in FSU history.
Hyde and the Seminoles continued to rewrite the history books in 2011-12 as the squad's six straight NCAA appearances marks the first time in school history the feat had been accomplished. Hyde has also guided the Seminoles to six top 20 finishes.
The Seminoles concluded the 2011 season with an eight-match winning streak, landing the Seminoles back to the ACC Title Match for just the second time in program history. The first time occurred in 1994 when Hyde was an athlete on the team. During that span, FSU recorded the most successful weekend of play in program history by beating No. 3 Duke and No. 4 UNC in back-to-back matches to close out the regular season. Using the momentum into the ACC Tournament, the Seminoles knocked off Wake Forest, No. 8 Virginia and No. 3 Duke for a second time as Hyde earned her 100th career victory in the process.
In addition, the Seminoles jumped to No. 11 in the ITA National Rankings, breaking the previous high mark of No. 12 set by the 2007-08 team.
Just one season earlier, Hyde led the Seminoles to perhaps the most successful season in Florida State history taking her team to its first ever NCAA Sweet 16. After being selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship for just the second time in program history, both under Hyde, the Seminoles dominated both North Florida and No. 17 South Carolina to punch their ticket to Athens, Ga., and to the highly coveted Sweet 16 round of the NCAAs. Hyde also watched her first `Nole earn ACC Freshman of the Year when Francesca Segarelli captured the honor in 2010.
The 2007-08 season welcomed several firsts for the program with Florida State hosting the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles reached a No. 12 national ranking, the highest ranking in women tennis program history at the time. With the help of big wins against top ranked programs during the 2008 season, the Seminoles finished the year with an overall record of 19-7, the winningest season since 1999, ranking second on the all-time list at Florida State. Also, Hyde coached freshman Katie Rybakova to a top 20 national ranking in which Rybakova also received a bid to participate in the NCAA Singles Championships as a freshman.
Hyde's players have made seven appearances at the NCAA Championships in singles as well as two doubles pairs. Rybakova is the one of two players in FSU history to qualify for the NCAA Championships three out of her four years (2008, 2009, 2011) in singles.
Off the court, Hyde athletes have continued their brilliance in the classroom by securing the Golden Torch Award nine times since her arrival, which is given to the Florida State athletic team with the highest GPA. In addition, numerous Seminoles have landed spots on the All-ACC Academic team, All-ACC Honor Roll and ITA Scholar-Athletes list in Hyde's eight years as head coach.
Both Federica Suess and Rybakova earned the ACC post-graduate scholarships. Suess was awarded the scholarship in 2009 during her senior year, while Rybakova earned the honor for her fifth-year in 2011.
After graduating from FSU in 1995, Hyde began her coaching career as an assistant for the Seminoles prior to heading north to the University of Iowa in 1995. Hyde spent two years in the Midwest before returning to the south with an assistant coaching stint at the University of Alabama (1997-98).
Hyde moved onto on to coach at the University of North Carolina in 1998-99 where she established herself as one of the best young coaches in the sport. With her assistance, UNC enjoyed one of its best seasons in program history, moving from outside all the national polls to a top-25 ranking and the school's first NCAA tournament berth.
In 1999, Hyde accepted her first head coaching position at the University of Houston. Hyde spent five increasingly successful years with the Cougars before returning to Tallahassee, where she first started her collegiate tennis career.
The Alpharetta, Ga., native posted an impressive career with the Seminoles--establishing herself as a four-year letter winner, NCAA Tournament participant (1994) and ACC flight champion in doubles alongside teammate Jenny Graf. Hyde captained the 1994 Seminole squad whose No. 17 ranking previously stood for sixteen years as the highest year end ranking until 2010's No. 14 finish. Hyde earned a Masters Degree from Florida State in Sport Management in 2011.
Hyde at Florida State
Year Record Pct. 2013* 16-10 .615
2012* 13-11 .541
2011* 16-9 .640
2010** 16-11 .593
2009* 17-8 .680
2008* 19-8 .704
2007* 16-8 .667
2006 9-13 .375
2005* 11-12 .478
*Qualified for NCAA Postseason
**NCAA Round of 16
