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Thursday, July 26, 2001
Former Islanders coach Moore is heading to SMU
Corpus Christi native to head up women's tennis program
By Darrin Scheid
Caller-Times

Moore

Steve Moore, the former men's tennis coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi who resigned in April, has landed a new job in Dallas at Southern Methodist University.
   Moore, a Corpus Christi native who played tennis at Incarnate Word Academy, has been hired as women's tennis coach at SMU.
   Moore, 32, resigned from A&M-CC in April at the end of his third season and then took a position as a volunteer coach with the SMU men's team, which advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
   Moore, who was one of four finalists for the SMU women's job, said he has already started recruiting for next season.
   "It was so hard to leave Corpus, but I'm excited that something came open here at SMU for me," Moore said. "You know, it's tough to get these head coaching jobs and there are so few of them out there. I'm just so excited, and I feel so lucky. This program really doesn't have a ceiling. It can be as good as the coach wants to make it."
   Moore built the A&M-CC men's team and took it into competition for the first time in 1999.
   In three seasons, the Islanders were 45-19 and finished the three-year span as the most successful program at the school in terms of winning percentage. The Islanders' senior-laden team in 2001 finished 16-8 and capped the year with a victory against Southland Conference tournament champion UT-Arlington.
   Moore then resigned shortly after the year, saying the university wasn't making enough of a commitment to tennis.
   He took a job as a volunteer assistant and helped the SMU men with its NCAA tournament run.
   A&M-CC has since hired H.E.B Tennis Center professional and former touring player Steve Denton.
   "I have a list of some players I want to try to sign in the next two weeks, so that's my next step," Moore said.
   Moore arrives at SMU with a variety of coaching experience, primarily with collegiate men's teams. Before coaching the Islanders, Moore was an assistant men's tennis coach at Texas Tech from September, 1995 to May, 1998. During that time, the Red Raiders appeared in three consecutive NCAA tournaments and posted three top-40 rankings. He served on the Board of Committee that conceptualized and fundraised for a $2 million tennis facility.
   He worked as an assistant coach at SMU from July 1994 to August 1995.
   Moore graduated from Abilene Christian in May 199 and played tennis at ACU.
   Moore said his contract is for one season and could be renewed annually, depending on the team's performance. Moore, who was making $17,000 at A&M-CC, would not disclose his salary at SMU.


Contact Darrin Scheid at 886-3747 or scheidd@caller.com

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