July 15, 2008

FARMVILLE, Va. - Longwood University seventh-year men's and women's tennis head coach Pat Breen has announced the hiring of Jakob Gustafsson as the programs new assistant coach. Gustafsson comes to Longwood after serving as the assistant coach for both men's and women's tennis at Morehead State University for the past two seasons.

"I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Jakob Gustafsson as our new assistant coach,” said Breen. “He will be a great addition to our tennis program as well as a good role model for our players.  His experience  at the Division I level as a player and a coach will be a great asset for us". 

A native of Hollviken, Sweden, Gustafsson played tennis at the University of Louisville where he was ranked as high as #19 nationally with teammate Jeremy Clark in doubles and #120 in singles as a senior in 2005-06. In his time at Louisville, he posted a career 72-29 singles record and a 77-43 career doubles mark. During his junior season at Louisville, Gustafsson was named the team's Most Valuable Player.

During his college career, he helped guide the Cardinals to the NCAA championships three times, was named third-team All-Conference USA in 2005, and Louisville won the BIG EAST Team Championships as a senior in 2006. Gustafsson is the only player to be voted to the All-BIG EAST team in both singles and doubles unanimously.

Gustafsson also excelled in the classroom while at Louisville, twice being named an Intercollegiate Tennis Associations (ITA) Scholar-Athlete. In 2004-05, Gustafsson was named Conference USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned ITA All-American Scholar status. He was also named to the Louisville Athletic Director's Honor Roll all four years with the Cardinals. In 2006, he earned an ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. He graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance with a concentration in exercise science.

Last season, Gustafsson helped guide Morehead State's men's tennis team to an 8-12 record, while the women finished the season 7-14. While working at Morehead State, Gustafsson earned his masters degree in sports management.