Ian Williams, a former Harvard and Texas tennis standout, has joined UNC men's tennis coach Sam Paul's staff as the chief assistant coach.
"I'm honored to be associated with a program that excels both on the tennis court and sees its student-athletes succeed academically at UNC and go on to pursue great careers," said Williams.
Williams played tennis at Harvard from 1990-92 before taking a leave of absence to attend Texas, where he enjoyed considerable success as a Longhorn. He was a singles finalist at the 1993 Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America Championships and reached as high as No. 6 in the national rankings.
He finished his Texas career with a 63-27 singles record. He posted a 41-10 record in 1993, including a 6-0 Southwest Conference record. The 41 wins were the third most in a season in school history behind NCAA champion Steve Bryan (53) and Jonny Levine (43). Williams opened the following season as the 22nd-ranked singles player in the country.
After leaving Texas, Williams played on the ATP World Tour in 1994-95. He won the doubles title of the 1995 Trofeo Cuidad de Quito ATP Challenge.
"Ian comes to Chapel Hill with a great tennis background," Paul said. "His experience at top-flight programs like Texas and Harvard, his professional playing experience and his experience in the business world will all be tremendous assets to our program at Carolina."
In 1998, Williams earned a degree in economics from Harvard. He worked for four years with the investment bank Deutsche Banc Alex Brown as an associate in the global private equity group, spending his time in the Baltimore and Boston offices, where he focused on corporate finance for venture capital companies.
