At Arkansas
Beginning his 15th season as head coach of the University of Arkansas women’s tennis program in 2017-18 … Owns a 197-168 (.540) record at Arkansas and is the program’s all-time winningest coach … Earned his 125th career victory over Washington State on Jan 26, 2013 to become all-time wins leader … Has coached the Razorbacks to a championship and NCAA Tournament team, winning the SEC West Division championship (2008, 2009) and making nine trips to the NCAA Tournament (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017) … Hired in the summer of 2003 and guided the Razorbacks to an 8-13 finish in his first season in 2004 … The Razorbacks showed tremendous improvement, finishing 11-11 in 2005 and making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2006 with a 10-11 record … 2007 saw the Razorbacks finish 11-11 … In 2008 and 2009, Arkansas captured back-to-back SEC West Division titles and made deep runs in the tournament both years … Arkansas advanced all the way to the Elite Eight in 2008 and the Sweet 16 in 2009 … Named SEC Coach of the Year in 2008 after going 18-10, winning the SEC West at 9-2 and guiding the Razorbacks to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament … In 2009, the Razorbacks were 15-8 and won the SEC West at 8-4. Arkansas beat Oral Roberts and No. 28 TCU in the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 3 Duke, 4-2 … Also the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2009, Arkansas beat No. 46 Wake Forest, No. 14 North Carolina and No. 2 Georgia in the post-season before losing to No. 7 UCLA … The Razorbacks would run their NCAA Tournament appearance streak to five years as Arkansas finished 18-10 in 2010, 19-10 in 2011, and 11-14 in 2012, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons … In 2010, despite replacing three players in his singles lineup from the 2009 team, led UA to an 18-10 mark, a ranking as high as No. 22 in the nation and helped the team advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament … Named ITA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2010 for a second time in three seasons, as the Razorbacks claimed wins over No. 22 Ole Miss, No. 23 Washington, No. 27 TCU, No. 32 Tulsa and No. 35 Oklahoma … Has captured NCAA Tournament bids each of the last three seasons (2015, 2016, 2017) … In 2016, the Razorbacks’ team season featured victories over seven teams in the final ITA national rankings, including No. 30 Wichita State, No. 12 Auburn and No. 19 Texas A&M … 2017 Wilson/ITA Central Region Coach of the Year after leading the team to its most wins since 2011 (18) and highest final national ranking since 2009 (No. 19) … Defeated 11 teams featured in the final national rankings, including No. 14 Auburn, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 21 LSU and No. 24 Tennessee, and held a spot in the top 20 in each of the last 10 weeks of the season.
Individual
Under Hegarty’s tutelage, the Razorbacks have accumulated prestigious individual honors in addition to team success … Aurelija Miseviciute (2005-09) won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championship title in 2007 … Consistently ranked in the top three in the country, Miseviciute repeated as ITA National Indoor Champion in 2008 … Arkansas’ most decorated women’s tennis player, Miseviciute — with the help of Hegarty — won an astounding 125 singles matches over her career at UA, earning two All-American honors and three All-SEC honors. Miseviciute was a finalist for the Honda Award in 2008 and 2009 … In 2013, freshman Yang Pang received numerous accolades during her breakout debut as a Razorback … Pang was named ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year, as well as being named to the All-SEC First Team and All-Freshman Team … Pang also became the first Razorback freshman ever to compete at the NCAA Individual Championships in 2013 … Anouk Tigu was voted the ITA Central Region Player to Watch in spring 2010, as she validated the attention by winning the ITA Central Region championship in fall 2010 … Also in 2010, Kelsey Sundaram was named the ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year … Tigu, who was ranked No. 29 in the nation, was first-team All-SEC while Sundaram made the all-freshman team … Another honoree is Ela Kaluder, who was named the 2007 ITA Player to Watch, an honor that proved prophetic in 2009 when Kaluder was named the ITA Central Region Senior Player of the Year … She also earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2007 and 2008 … In 2016, senior Yuliya Lysa was named to the All-SEC First Team after earning second-team honors in 2015, while freshman Ana Oparenovic earned a spot on the All-Freshman team … Lysa became the ninth player in program history to garner first team honors, while Oparenovic was the third to earn All-Freshman acclaim … Coached senior Shannon Hudson to second-team All-SEC honors in 2017.
Off The Court
Has also instilled a strong academic work ethic into his players, believing tennis should go hand-in-hand with a college education … Leading the way in the classroom was Miseviciute, who was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American in both 2008 and 2009 … Since 2004, Hegarty’s Razorbacks have been named to the SEC Honor Roll a total of 80 times … Another successful year in the classroom led the program to team and individual academic honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for the 2016-17 season … The Razorbacks posted a 3.31 GPA during the 2016-17 academic year, earning the All-Academic Team award for the third straight season.
Prior To Arkansas
After a successful college and professional career, began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Auburn University, in 1994 … After two seasons with the Tigers, took his first job at Arkansas, assistant coach of the men’s tennis team under former men’s head coach Robert Cox for a year before taking an assistant coaching position with the Kentucky Wildcats men and women’s programs … Hegarty took his first head coaching job at Fresno State from 1997-2001, leading the Bulldogs to a 76-33 (.697) record, a 1999 Western Athletic Conference championship, and three-straight seasons ranked in the top 25 … Was named WAC and Region VII Coach of the Year in 1999 … Before returning to Arkansas, Hegarty served as an assistant coach for the University of Florida men’s tennis team from 2001-2003, helping transform Florida men’s tennis into a national powerhouse.
Personal
While playing at Auburn, Hegarty broke the Top 20 in singles in both 1992 and 1993 … He was named a two-time academic All-SEC honoree and graduated with a degree in journalism … After graduating and entering the pro circuit, Hegarty was ranked as high as 284th in the world and competed in several world-renowned tournaments including the 1994 US Open, the Australian Open and the NASDAQ Open … A native of Melbourne, Australia.
