Longoria named California Tennis Coach of the Year

Sage Hill School tennis coach A.G. Longoria has been named 2007 California High School Tennis Coach of the Year, the California division of the United States Professional Tennis Assn. announced at its recent awards dinner in Manhattan Beach.

Longoria, who coaches the boys’ and girls’ teams at Sage Hill, has been at the school since its inception in 2000.

His teams at Sage Hill, which competes in CIF Southern Section Division IV and is part of the Academy League, have won four league titles. The Lightning have reached the CIF quarterfinals seven times, the semifinals twice, and won the CIF Southern Section Division V girls’ championship in 2005.

That CIF title is one of two that Sage Hill has won in any sport.

Longoria’s teams have also won more league titles, and had more postseason appearances and wins than any other sport at Sage Hill.

Longoria has been voted Academy League Coach of the Year three times.

With the honor at the state level, Longoria has been nominated for the USPTA National Coach of the Year Award. At the California division awards dinner, keynote speaker Dick Gould, the legendary Stanford coach, called Longoria one of the top-five coaches in America.

Longoria said he was an on-call coach to President George Bush, Sr. while he was in the White House, and received the Mortar Board Top Prof Award at the University of North Texas. He was an NCAA Division I coach, a league champion community college coach, and has been an international junior coach, an Olympic coach and an assistant Davis Cup Coach. He played for a national championship college team and coached two national championship junior teams.

“We have great students, a fantastic school, and very supportive faculty and staff,” Longoria said. “All the credit should go to Sage Hill.”

— From staff reports