Jenny Garrity enters the 2009-10 campaign as UNCW's most successful women's tennis coach after piloting the Seahawks to their first national ranking in 2008-09.

Garrity begins her 10th season with the Seahawks and her 14th overall. A veteran coach who has compiled a successful track record at three different NCAA Division I institutions, Garrity has led the Seahawks to seven consecutive winning seasons.

In 2008-09, UNCW went a sparkling 19-3 for an .864 winning percentage and was ranked 69th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in late spring. In addition, the doubles tandem of Lauren Isenhour and Kayla Schwenk collected a ranking of No. 64 on March 19, 2009.

The Seahawks went a perfect 14-0 against non-conference opponents behind All-CAA performers Kayla Schwenk and Lauren Isenhour. Schwenk was named Third-Team All-CAA in singles and was joined on the Second-Team All-CAA doubles unit by Isenhour.

Garrity guided the Seahawks to a 17-13 record in 2007-08. The team set a program record with four individual flight champions during the fall season and then enjoyed a solid spring campaign. Isenhour was named Third-Team All-CAA in singles and played with Schwenk on the All-CAA Third-Team doubles squad.

In 2005-06, Garrity's team swept to a 22-6 record, including the club's fourth straight appearance in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

Prior to Garrity's arrival, no Seahawk had been recognized on the All-Conference team. Over the last seven seasons, Seahawks have picked up 18 All-CAA honors. Lindsey Hess was named to the All-CAA singles and All-CAA doubles units three straight years.

The women's tennis team has performed well in the classroom, too. The squad has been recognized on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) Academic All-America six times, and has led all of UNCW's intercollegiate teams with the highest team GPA the last three semesters.

A native of the West Coast, Garrity headed up the programs at N.C. State and Kansas before coming to Wilmington on May 26, 2000. She collected Coach-of-the-Year honors at both instititions before moving to the Carolina coast.

Garrity, 36, served as an assistant coach for three years at N.C. State before moving up the top chair. In her final year in Raleigh, Garrity led the Wolfpack to a 16-8 record and the school’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Southeast Regional. That team set the school record for most wins in a season, recorded the highest ACC finish in school history and enjoyed the longest winning streak in the program's history. Garrity continued her move up the coaching ladder in Lawrence, where she directed KU's nationally-ranked program two years. She piloted the Jayhawks to a 13-13 mark in her first season, including an 8-3 conference record and third place in the Big 12 Conference.

As a player, Garrity enjoyed an outstanding career at N.C. State from 1989-92. She was a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and finished with the most victories in Wolfpack women’s tennis history. In 2003, she was named to the ACC's 50th Anniversary team as one of the best players in the history of the conference.

Garrity is a member of the National Women’s Tennis Coaches Association and has been a member of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) since 1981. She became a USTA certified official in 1992. Garrity has served as an ITA or NCAA Tennis Committee member each of the past 12 seasons.

Tennis is a passion for her family. Garrity's younger brother, Mike Sell, was a four-time All-American at Georgia and works as a national coach for the USTA. Her sister, Kris, played at Kansas from 1996-99 and was the Big 12 Player-of-the-Year under Garrity in 2000. Her youngest sister, Kathy, played on Duke's Top 10 squad and is now head women's coach at Princeton.

Garrity and her husband, Jimmy, an assistant coach with the Seahawks women's basketball program, are the proud parents of Kacey, 12, Corey, 6, and Mary Carlyn, 4.

The Garrity Record