Tommy McDonald begins his seventh season as head coach for the UALR men’s program and first season as Director of Tennis. McDonald came to UALR in the fall of 2001 from Virginia Tech where he was the men’s assistant coach for the Hokies for three seasons.

In seven seasons at UALR, McDonald has built the Trojans into one of the most improved programs in the nation.  When he took over in 2001, the Trojans men’s tennis team was coming off a 9-13 season, and the women’s team had gone 13-12 the past season.  He led the men's team to a final ITA ranking of #70 in his first season, ending the season with a record of 18-6, and he coached the women to a 17-11 record as well. 

He has recorded a 103-55 career record for the men’s team and a 117-47 record for the women’s team.  For his seven seasons, McDonald has a 100% graduation rate for men’s and women’s tennis athletes that have exhausted their eligibility.

McDonald is already recognized as the winningest coach in UALR tennis history at the Division I level.  For his efforts over the past seven years, McDonald was named Chair of the ITA Central Region for Men’s tennis for the 2007-08 season and will serve as a national-ranking committee member.

In his tenure, McDonald has coached ten nationally-ranked players.  Mariano Pettigrosso has the distinction of being the highest-ranked player he has coached when he achieved a national ranking of 28, also the highest national ranking in UALR school history for a singles player.  Pettigrosso ended up his career as an All Sun-Belt selection.

In 2004, McDonald recruited one of the top freshman in the nation in Bastian Faisst. Faisst ended the regular season ranked #43 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and was the third highest ranked freshman in the nation. He was also named the ITA Region V Rookie of the Year and was named All-Sun Belt in singles and doubles play, the first Trojan to accomplish this feat in seven seasons. Faisst also qualified for the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championships, becoming the first UALR tennis player to compete in the national championships in nine years.

In 2007, the men’s tennis team had one of the most successful fall campaigns in UALR history as the team captured two invitational wins and capped off the fall season with an amazing run in the ITA Central Regional Tournament.  The squad had two players reach the quarterfinals of the main singles draw of the region and had two doubles teams reach the quarterfinals of the main doubles draw.

Going into 2008, McDonald has six men’s players ranked in the top-30 in the ITA regional rankings.  Three of the men’s doubles teams were also ranked in the top-15.  Marko Ballok headed up the rankings for the Trojans leading the way, finishing out 2007 as the eighth-best singles player in the Central Region.  Edson Abrao also received a top-10 ranking, coming in at tenth.

In 2006-07, the UALR women’s team received the NCAA Public Recognition Award for being in the top 10% of all women's tennis teams in the country for Academic Progress Rate.  The women’s team finished the year with an 18-9 record and was an Academic All-American team for the fifth time in six seasons.

McDonald's teams have achieved as much success in the classroom as they have on the court. The UALR men's team has been named ITA All-Academic Team in five of McDonald's six years at the helm of the Trojan program, while the women have achieved ITA All-Academic Team status on five occasions. In addition, 42 individual players have been named ITA Scholar Athletes.  For the 2004-05 and the 2001-02 seasons, the men’s team was recognized by the Sun Belt Conference for having the highest grade point average.

Also in 2006-07, the UALR men’s team reached a team high national ranking of # 70 and finished the season with 20 wins, which was tied for the second most wins in school history with McDonald's 2004 team.  Edson Abrao and Rain Roigas were ranked as high as the 44^th best doubles team nationally.

The men’s team of 2006-07 saw the end of one of the most storied careers in UALR history with the graduation of Dinko Halachev.  Halachev recorded the best win in UALR tennis history with a victory over Todd Paul of Wake Forest, who was formerly # 1 in the country and ranked # 3 at the time of the match.  Halachev was awarded All-Sun Belt honors following the season and achieved a season-high national ranking of 71.  

McDonald also had four former players named to the Sun Belt Conference 30^th Anniversary Team.  Bindiya Parekh and Julieta Lillo represented the women’s team while Dinko Halachev and Bastian Faisst were named to the men’s team.

In '03-04, McDonald led UALR to one of the best seasons in school history as the men's team recorded a 20-9 record, and the women's squad set a school victories record with a 23-6 mark. This marked the first time in school history both teams reached 20 wins during the same season, and McDonald was the only Division I coach to have both of his teams nationally ranked at season's end.

The men's team - which was ranked as high as 59th nationally and ended the season 71st - finished third at the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Championships while the women finished fourth for the second consecutive season. The women's squad finished the season ranked 74th, the first national ranking for a UALR women's team in school history.

In 2003, McDonald organized and ran what is now the annual McDonald Tennis Camp, which was the first tennis camp held on campus.  The camp, which has a junior and adult division, saw its highest registration numbers in 2007.

In 2003, McDonald helped Julieta Lillo become the first All-Sun Belt Conference Singles selection since 1994. He also helped Lillo and Bindiya Parekh to become the first doubles team at UALR to be named All-Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans fourth-place finish in 2003 was the best since 1994. 

Before arriving at UALR, McDonald helped lead the Virginia Tech men’s tennis program to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1999 and to Atlantic 10 Conference titles in 1999 and 2000. Prior to beginning at Virginia Tech in 1998, McDonald spent two years on the International Tennis Federation’s ATP professional tour, competing throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia.

McDonald played college tennis at East Carolina University and received his bachelor’s degree from ECU in 1994. He received his master’s degree in 2001 from Hollins University in Roanoke, Va.

“In his career, Tommy has been surrounded with success as a player and coach,” UALR athletic director Chris Peterson said. “He has the energy and personality necessary to help the Trojan tennis program get to the next level.”

McDonald’s wife Roseann is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, and the College of Health Sciences in Roanoke, Va., and works as an oncology nurse for Arkansas Oncology. The couple has been married for nine years and had their first child, Savannah Jane, on Aug. 4, 2002 in Little Rock. Their second child, Charles Thomas, was born on August 7, 2005.