Nick Crowell
NICK CROWELL – Assistant Coach – 4th Season – Texas, ‘00
Entering into his fourth season on staff at Florida State, assistant coach Nick Crowell continues to have a profound impact on the Seminoles. While earning All-American honors in doubles play for the Longhorns, Crowell played for current FSU head coach Dwayne Hultquist, who was an assistant coach at the time. Since Crowell’s arrival in 2003, Florida State has reached the NCAA Championships every season, won 60 percent of dual matches and shattered several team records.
The 2006 season found the Seminoles concluding the year with a respectable 18-12 record with arguably the hardest strength of schedule in the nation. Florida State's 18 wins tied as the second-most number of program victories in the last 16 seasons. FSU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship and made the school's first four-peat appearance in the Big Dance since its run of five consecutive trips from 1994-98. Crowell was a big factor in the success of Ytai Abougzir, who became the first Seminole in 12 seasons to qualify for both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship.
In May 2006, Crowell was named the ITA Mideast Region Men's Tennis Assistant Coach of the Year and became a finalist for the national award.
“Nick brings a lot of dedication, energy and enthusiasm to our program," said Hultquist. "He has spent a lot of time individually with each of our players and does a great job of recruiting the top players in the country."
Thanks to incoming freshmen Jean-Yves Aubone, Bobby Deye and Bradley Mixson, Florida State boasted the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation at the start of the Fall 2006 Campaign.
In 2005, Hultquist and Crowell led the Tribe to a Cinderella-run that included a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history. Florida State also finished with its highest-ever national ranking at No. 13 and stamped in the record book its first 20-plus win season since 1985.
After a few months off, the pair of Seminole coaches hit the ground running in the fall of 2005 and led their troop to an impressive fall campaign. For the Seminoles efforts, Florida State not only earned the school’s first invitation to the 2006 USTA/ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, but it also garnered a respectable preseason ranking of No.11 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
In his first year with the Seminoles during the 2004 season, FSU reached heights it hadn’t seen since the mid 1990’s. The Tribe’s second trip to the national summit was their first back-to-back appearances since the 1997-98 campaigns and they ended the 2004 year ranked for the 11th season in a row with a 10-13 record.
Since graduating from Texas in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in sports management, Crowell has been playing professionally on the Challenger and FUTURES tours. Three seasons he reached the semifinals in doubles play at the Seascape Challenger (Aptos, Calif.) and the Challenger of Dallas. Unfortunately an injury cut his career short and was a teaching pro at Holly Tree Country Club in Tyler, Texas.
"The thing that separated Nick from the others was, not only was he a great player, being a two-time All-American, but there was the connection we had back at Texas and the success we had there," Hultquist said. "My last three years we won the Big 12 every year and Nick was a huge part of that. He understands what it means to be at a top five program."
Early in his career at Texas, Crowell established himself as one of the top doubles players in the country. During his freshman season, he teamed up with Paul Martin to advanced to the quarterfinals of the doubles draw at the NCAA Tournament, earning him his first All-America honor. That season he also earned the Big 12 Conference and ITA Region VI Freshman of the Year awards. Sophomore year, he earned all-conference honors in his last three seasons in singles and doubles.
Finishing his career just as he started it, Crowell captured his second All-America honor during his senior season as he and playing partner Michael Blue advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament. Earlier in the season, the two paired up to win the doubles title at the ITA National Indoor Tournament.
With nearly 100 doubles victories during his tenure with the Longhorns, Crowell ranks third in school history with 98 triumphs. His 29 doubles wins with Martin during 1997 still ranks in the top five. Sparked by a 35-win season in 1997, he ranks 15th on the all-time singles list.
A native of Amarillo, Texas, the 28-year-old Crowell resides in Tallahassee.
