GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida State football had just won its second national championship in three seasons. This comes on the heels of the men’s basketball team winning back-to-back NCAA titles. Athletic director Jeremy Foley was feeling good and felt good about the program as a whole. Enough to have a little fun with a few other coaches.
He posed the question to women’s tennis coach Roland Thornqvist, who already has one NCAA title under his belt.
Roland Thornqvist
“This puts pressure on you guys, doesn’t it?” Foley chided in 2009.
Thornqvist was all smiles and Foley had a comeback he’ll never forget.
“That’s what we like about it,” he said.
That’s how Thornqvist spent his time with the Gators, en route to winning multiple Southeastern Conference and NCAA championships during his 23-season tenure at UF. That came to an abrupt halt Monday with the announcement that he would retire just a month into the fall season and three months before the start of the 2025 season.
Thornqvist broke the news to his team during a meeting early Monday morning. Associate head coach Jeremy Bayon, who joined the women’s staff in January 2023, will assume the role of interim head coach virtually immediately, and the Gators will conduct a national search for a permanent replacement.
“I think the time is now,” Thornqvist said. “It’s been a great 23 years. I’ve put my heart and soul into this. I wake up every morning and try to do the best I can for the Gators. The way I work is tough. I’m on the court.” I’ve been through a lot and I think I’ve been a little less efficient the last few years than I would have liked and relied on my assistants a lot more. Like I said, it’s just time.”
His final college resume included a record of 507-107 (.826 winning percentage) with 11 Southeastern Conference regular season championships, 10 more league tournament championships, and four NCAA titles. , and will coach six different Gators to nine in the process. Won SEC Player of the Year Award. Roland Thornqvist holds up the 2017 NCAA Champions Trophy in Athens, Georgia. Perhaps his last few seasons haven’t been up to Thornqvist’s lofty standards, with one NCAA round of 16 appearance since 2018, but his collegiate accomplishments are solid, and the team is Bayonne. He will leave later because he is in great shape to compete.
“The University of Florida is incredibly grateful to Roland, who had a great tenure in Gainesville and won a national championship and an SEC championship while representing the Gators with distinction,” said Roland, his first AD. said Scott Stricklin, the University of Florida athletic director who won the national title. “We will always be grateful for the lasting impact he had on and off the court on our student-athletes and the staff he led.”
Mr. Thornqvist, 54, has no plans to quit his job. He hasn’t ruled out a career in coaching, but he could also pursue a management position in an athletics department.
“Am I going to be a girls coach somewhere else and play against the Gators? That’s not in my plans,” he said.
If Thornqvist chooses to stay, he’ll be a hell of a free agent.
“He’s one of the best coaches that’s ever been here,” Foley said.
And he did it right from the start, dealing with pressure-packed expectations.
When UF Hall of Famer Andy Brandi stepped down from her post as head of women’s tennis in 2001 after 17 seasons, the Gators began searching for a successor to the icon who won 14 SEC titles and three national championships. In Thornqvist, Foley found a candidate who fit the profile of the university at the time. The number of people in their 30s is on the rise. Around 2003, he won his first domestic title at just 33 years old. A native of Stockholm, Sweden, and an All-America player at the University of North Carolina, Thornqvist was 26 when he took his first job at the University of Kansas (not exactly a fertile tennis field) and played two colleges with the Jayhawks. led to the NCAA Tournament. His success there earned Thornqvist the head coach job at his alma mater, UNC, where he led them to three NCAAs in a few seasons before the UF job opened and Foley got the call.
When the two first met, Foley was struck by Thornqvist’s presence and confidence.
“Tall, handsome, with a great demeanor, he made it clear from the moment he walked into the room that he really wanted the job,” Foley recalled. “I told him this was not an easy gig and that he was following the greatest player of all time in Andy Brandy. He said to me, “Jeremy, I want to be in a place where there are championship expectations.” The pressure didn’t affect him. ”
In 2002, Thornqvist’s first season, the Gators lost on their home court to top-seeded Stanford, 24-2, in the NCAA finals. A year later, the University of Florida returned the favor by defeating the mighty Cardinal in the title round at Linder Stadium.
“Words cannot describe the feeling of hoisting the trophy on your home court with thousands of fans cheering you on,” he said.
There may be other moments that are indescribable, but Thornqvist’s favorite may be that unforgettable day on May 21, 2011, when he played again on the road against top-ranked Stanford University. – That’s when Firebrand sophomore Lauren Embry lost 4-0 in a decisive third set in a match at the University of Tokyo. She bounced back with a 7-6 tiebreak victory in the second singles match against Mallory Barnett, clinching the program’s second NCAA title under coach Thornqvist.
“Somehow she found a way,” Thornqvist said. “I’ve never seen a stadium empty so quickly. One moment there were 2,500 people and the next moment it was just Gator fans cheering. She’s our Tim Tebow It was.”
And just like Tebow, she led the Gators to their second championship, defeating UCLA 4-0 in the finals the following season, giving Florida its first back-to-back championships in the sport. Roland Thornqvist (center) celebrates the 2011 NCAA Championship at Stanford University with trophy in hand and superstar Lauren Embry on left. In 2017, the University of Florida once again defeated Stanford in the finals to win the program’s seventh NCAA title and fourth under Coach Thornqvist.
“One of the things I always say when people ask me what it’s like to be a Gator is it’s the people and the organization,” he said. “We always have the best medical staff, trainers and academic support around our program to ensure our athletes are successful and to be great when the bell rings. We have always had great people surrounding our program, and we are so grateful.”
His words oozed sincerity. So were these.
“I’ll always be a Gator.”
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