Wooten named WC tennis coach

Weatherford College has announced Stephanie Wooten as its new head tennis coach. She will coach both women's and men's tennis at WC. 

Wooten, a native of Crandall, Texas, comes to WC with head coaching experience from the University of New Mexico, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Stephen F. Austin State University, Lee College, and, most recently, Butler University in Indianapolis. 

In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Wooten served as a tennis coach at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, working with nationally and internationally ranked players in their junior tennis academy.  

"It is such a blessing to get to come back home so close to my family and to where I fell in love with the game of tennis," she said. "I'm very thankful to the hiring committee for giving me this opportunity to lead the Weatherford College tennis programs and continue to build on a strong tennis tradition and develop a family environment." 

In her single season at UTRGV (2015-16), she led the program to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title, the university's first WAC championship in any sport.  

In her two seasons at SFA (2011-13), beginning as an assistant before becoming head coach, the Lumberjacks won the first conference championship in program history and earned their highest national ranking (No. 35).  

Wooten began her coaching career as interim head coach at Lee College in 2010-11. Her team finished runners-up at the NJCAA National Tournament. She moved on to the University of Houston, where, as an assistant, she helped her team to a runner-up finish at the American Athletic Conference Tournament.  

"We are very excited to welcome Coach Wooten to WC," said Jeff Lightfoot, who is serving as WC's acting athletic director while Bob McKinley is on temporary leave. "She brings a wealth of experience and a recruiting network that will allow her to impact our tennis program immediately."  

At Crandall High School, Wooten was a four-time state champion in Class 3A and went undefeated all four years of high school. She moved on to play Division I tennis at Purdue University for five years, earning team captain and Team MVP status as a junior and senior.  

"Weatherford College is investing heavily into tennis and putting our programs into a great position to recruit world-class student-athletes and compete for championships," Wooten said. "I'm excited for the challenge and thrilled to be here. It's an exciting time to be a Coyote!"