Jayhawks Add Caroline Lilley as Women’s Tennis Assistant Coach

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas women’s tennis head coach Todd Chapman added an integral piece to his program Wednesday, when he announced the hiring of Caroline Lilley as assistant coach. Lilley joins the Jayhawk staff after a standout career as a player at Georgia Tech and a successful stint in a similar coaching role at Gonzaga.
 
“I believe we have made a tremendous hire in having Caroline join our KU tennis family,” said Chapman. “She is on the rise in the coaching profession and we are lucky to have her. Caroline was a really good player at Georgia Tech and accomplished a lot in her playing career. She will bring the knowledge she gained in her playing days, as well as the valuable experience she gained as an assistant coach at Gonzaga. We can’t wait for her to get to Lawrence and get started with the program.”
 
A Portland, Oregon native, Lilley will bring with her a wealth of experience as both a coach and a player. Lilley spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Gonzaga, helping the Bulldogs to a 12-9 mark in 2014-15, including a win over No. 55 UC Irvine.
 
“I would like to thank Coach Chapman for the opportunity to work for such a distinguished athletic department,” said Lilley. “I believe in his vision for the program and am extremely excited to be a part of the process-minded, developmental-focused team he is building. The University of Kansas is one of the most respected and admired athletic departments in the country, and I am so thankful to be working for and with the best in the business.”
 
Prior to joining the Gonzaga staff, Lilley was a volunteer assistant coach at Purdue. With the Boilermaker’s in 2012-2013, the squad reached the second round of the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history. In addition, the team achieved a national ranking as high as No. 14, also the highest in school history.
 
National recognition is nothing new for Lilley as she had an accomplished playing career at both Kentucky (freshman and sophomore) and Georgia Tech (junior and senior). As a player, Lilley was ranked in both singles and doubles competition with highs of No. 67 and No. 6, respectively.
 
As a senior at Georgia Tech, Lilley helped the club take down an eighth-ranked Alabama squad, 4-3, with a third-set come-from-behind thriller. Lilley claimed the final four games to earn her team the victory. As a junior, she posted a personal best 26-12 record.
 
Graduating with a business administration degree with a concentration in finance, Lilley left Georgia Tech with the second-best doubles winning percentage of any player. She compiled an impressive 38-17 record including a 20-7 mark in dual match play for a 69.1 winning percentage.

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