North Carolina State University Athletics
Spencer Adds Cris James to Men’s Tennis Coaching Staff
7/14/2017 9:51:00 AM | Men's Tennis
James was the 2010 Missouri Valley Coach of the Year while at Illinois State
July 14, 2017
RALEIGH – New NC State men's tennis head coach Kyle Spencer announced Friday that he has hired Cris James as his assistant coach.
Formerly the head men's tennis coach at Illinois State from 2007-13, James comes to Raleigh after spending the last four seasons as a second assistant coach at Notre Dame.
"Cris is one of the most knowledgeable and most respected tennis coaches in the college game," Spencer said. "His vast experience in on-court coaching and recruiting will help our program succeed at the highest level. More importantly, Cris will help our young men develop their character to achieve in life's greatest pursuits. Having Cris choose NC State to further his coaching career is our biggest recruiting coup!"
James helped lead the Fighting Irish to three NCAA Tournament appearances during his time in South Bend, advancing as far as the Sweet 16 in 2014. During that first season, James and the Irish were ranked as high as No. 6 nationally and ended the season ranked No. 13. The 2014-15 season featured another NCAA Tournament appearance and a final team ranking of 37th. James acted as the primary on-court coach for the doubles team of Pecor and Lawson, which reached the quarterfinals of both the ITA All-American and ITA National Indoor tournaments as well as the round of 16 at the NCAA Individual Championships.
During the 2015-16 season, Notre Dame defeated then national No. 1 UNC-Chapel Hill in ACC play and again advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a team.
Notre Dame's 2016-17 season concluded with senior singles player Josh Hagar advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Hagar also earned First Team All-ACC honors and teammates Brandon Kempin and Alex Lebedev were named to the All-ACC Academic Team.
"I am thrilled and excited for the opportunity to work alongside Coach Spencer and for NC State University," James said. "I have a tremendous passion for developing student-athletes and competing at the highest level. I'd like to thank Kyle Spencer and Michael Lipitz for giving me the opportunity, and also my family for their unwavering support. I can't wait to get started helping our student-athletes reach their potential."
Under James' leadership as a head coach, Illinois State appeared in the national rankings (2010) for the first time since 2001. The year culminated in James being named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year after leading his squad to the conference regular-season championship. The team then finished second in the conference regular-season standings the following season.
While at Illinois State, James recruited and coached nine players to the MVC All-Conference teams as well as both the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year and the 2010 MVC Co-Player of the Year. He had six different nationally-ranked doubles teams from 2007-13 and one nationally-ranked singles player.
Prior to his head coaching position at Illinois State, James was an assistant coach at Purdue from 2002-07. While with the Boilermakers in a coaching capacity, he was involved with all aspects of player development, including but not limited to planning and coordinating team practices, physical fitness training, and individual player instruction.
During his playing days at Purdue, James three times earned All-Big Ten, Academic All-Big Ten, and team MVP honors. A team captain, James reached a high of No. 26 nationally in singles and No. 7 in doubles. He won three professional futures doubles tournaments and earned professional rankings in both singles and doubles.
He owns two degrees from Purdue, a Bachelor of Science in political science (1999) and a Master of Science in sports management (2007).
James and his wife Emily have a son, Jack, and a daughter, Ellie.
What They Are Saying About Cris James
Notre Dame head coach Ryan Sachire: "The Wolfpack is getting a great person and a fantastic coach in Cris James. His passion for and ability to teach the game of tennis is second to none. He was instrumental in the development of our players at Notre Dame and played a key role in enabling us to have six different student-athletes earn top-10 national rankings during his time at ND. More importantly, Cris built tremendous relationships with our players, administration, and members of the community. I am excited to watch the impact Cris makes at NC State!"
#GoPack | @PackMensTennis
RALEIGH – New NC State men's tennis head coach Kyle Spencer announced Friday that he has hired Cris James as his assistant coach.
Formerly the head men's tennis coach at Illinois State from 2007-13, James comes to Raleigh after spending the last four seasons as a second assistant coach at Notre Dame.
"Cris is one of the most knowledgeable and most respected tennis coaches in the college game," Spencer said. "His vast experience in on-court coaching and recruiting will help our program succeed at the highest level. More importantly, Cris will help our young men develop their character to achieve in life's greatest pursuits. Having Cris choose NC State to further his coaching career is our biggest recruiting coup!"
James helped lead the Fighting Irish to three NCAA Tournament appearances during his time in South Bend, advancing as far as the Sweet 16 in 2014. During that first season, James and the Irish were ranked as high as No. 6 nationally and ended the season ranked No. 13. The 2014-15 season featured another NCAA Tournament appearance and a final team ranking of 37th. James acted as the primary on-court coach for the doubles team of Pecor and Lawson, which reached the quarterfinals of both the ITA All-American and ITA National Indoor tournaments as well as the round of 16 at the NCAA Individual Championships.
During the 2015-16 season, Notre Dame defeated then national No. 1 UNC-Chapel Hill in ACC play and again advanced to the NCAA Tournament as a team.
Notre Dame's 2016-17 season concluded with senior singles player Josh Hagar advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Hagar also earned First Team All-ACC honors and teammates Brandon Kempin and Alex Lebedev were named to the All-ACC Academic Team.
"I am thrilled and excited for the opportunity to work alongside Coach Spencer and for NC State University," James said. "I have a tremendous passion for developing student-athletes and competing at the highest level. I'd like to thank Kyle Spencer and Michael Lipitz for giving me the opportunity, and also my family for their unwavering support. I can't wait to get started helping our student-athletes reach their potential."
Under James' leadership as a head coach, Illinois State appeared in the national rankings (2010) for the first time since 2001. The year culminated in James being named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year after leading his squad to the conference regular-season championship. The team then finished second in the conference regular-season standings the following season.
While at Illinois State, James recruited and coached nine players to the MVC All-Conference teams as well as both the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year and the 2010 MVC Co-Player of the Year. He had six different nationally-ranked doubles teams from 2007-13 and one nationally-ranked singles player.
Prior to his head coaching position at Illinois State, James was an assistant coach at Purdue from 2002-07. While with the Boilermakers in a coaching capacity, he was involved with all aspects of player development, including but not limited to planning and coordinating team practices, physical fitness training, and individual player instruction.
During his playing days at Purdue, James three times earned All-Big Ten, Academic All-Big Ten, and team MVP honors. A team captain, James reached a high of No. 26 nationally in singles and No. 7 in doubles. He won three professional futures doubles tournaments and earned professional rankings in both singles and doubles.
He owns two degrees from Purdue, a Bachelor of Science in political science (1999) and a Master of Science in sports management (2007).
James and his wife Emily have a son, Jack, and a daughter, Ellie.
What They Are Saying About Cris James
Notre Dame head coach Ryan Sachire: "The Wolfpack is getting a great person and a fantastic coach in Cris James. His passion for and ability to teach the game of tennis is second to none. He was instrumental in the development of our players at Notre Dame and played a key role in enabling us to have six different student-athletes earn top-10 national rankings during his time at ND. More importantly, Cris built tremendous relationships with our players, administration, and members of the community. I am excited to watch the impact Cris makes at NC State!"
#GoPack | @PackMensTennis
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