July 24, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame women’s tennis head coach Jay Louderback announced recently the hiring of three-time All-American Catrina Thompson as the program’s new assistant coach. Thompson replaces former teammate Kelcy Flores, who served as the Irish assistant coach for the past two seasons.
“I’m thrilled to be back home again at Notre Dame, where I have so many fond memories,” Thompson said. “I am excited about the quality of student-athletes on the Notre Dame women’s tennis team and am anxious to see how well we can do this year. I feel very fortunate to be part of Coach Louderback’s program again, and am committed to Jay and the team to give my best efforts to continue to have a successful program.”
“We are excited to have Catrina return to the University of Notre Dame,” Louderback said. “She brings not only an extensive playing background but also coaching and teaching experience to our program. Her leadership as a player at Notre Dame was a preview of her coaching ability.”
Thompson re-joins the Irish program after working as an assistant coach at Boise State University the past two seasons. She helped guide the Broncos to a 13-10 record in 2013, earning Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Mountain Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Boise State players received a total of six all-Mountain West Conference citations during Thompson’s tenure on head coach Beck Roghaar’s staff.
Thompson began her collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Yale University during the 2010-11 season. The Bulldogs posted a 22-5 record and claimed the 2011 Ivy League Championship, ultimately reaching the second round of that year’s NCAA Championship. Yale finished the season as the number 31 team in the final ITA rankings.
Following her collegiate playing career at Notre Dame, Thompson was a four-time doubles winner in professional events, claiming a pair of $10,000 tournaments (in St. Joseph, Mo. and Wichita, Kan.) during the summer of 2006. Thompson added pro doubles victories in Tampico, Mexico in 2007 and Houston, Texas in 2008. A United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) certified teaching professional, Thompson also served as a tennis instructor at the Sutton East Tennis Club in New York City from 2008-11.
Thompson formed one of the most prolific doubles tandems in Notre Dame history from 2003-07 alongside her twin sister Christian, reaching the number one position in the ITA doubles rankings during both the 2005 and 2006 seasons. The duo won a program record 104 matches (104-41) over four seasons, becoming the only doubles team in Irish history to surpass the 100-win plateau. The Thompsons won the prestigious Riviera/ITA All-American Championship in 2005, and were tournament runners-up in 2004 and 2006. They also reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 NCAA Championship, the second-best showing at the event in Notre Dame history.
Thompson was a three-time doubles ITA All-American (2004-07), and was named the BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player in 2005 and 2006. She was a seven-time BIG EAST All-Tournament selection, claiming three singles honors (2004, 2005 and 2007) and copping a citation all four years she competed in the doubles ranks. Thompson added BIG EAST Academic All-Star distinction and was the women’s tennis recipient of the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award in 2004-05. She was a four-time monogram winner, and selected as a senior co-captain for the 2006-07 season.
A native of Las Vegas, Nev., Thompson graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing from the Mendoza College of Business in 2007.
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