Joe Heckley begins his second season as head men's tennis coachand first as assistant women's tennis coach in 2010. In his firstseason at the helm of the Seahawk tennis program, Heckley promptlyled the squad to a 13-11 mark (8-3 The Commonwealth CoastConference) and their 15th conference championship. After defeatingNo. 6 Endicott 5-2 in the quarterfinals, the Seahawks scored a 5-4win at No. 2 Nichols and then defeated top-seed and defendingchampion Roger Williams 5-4 to advance to their third NCAATournament in four seasons.
Heckley comes to Salve Regina after successful playing careers atFoothill College (Calif.) and Niagara (N.Y.).
At Foothill, he was ranked 38th in the state in singles and 11th indoubles as a freshman. He was ranked 20th in the state in singlesand 17th in doubles as a sophomore. His team won the NorthernCalifornia Tournament in 2005 and placed second in 2006.
Most recently for Niagara, Heckley and his mates pulled afirst-round upset over fourth-seeded Loyola at the MAACChampionships held at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center inFlushing, N.Y. "My college coaches (Dixie Macias at Foothill;Anthony Nguyen at Niagara) have inspired me with their enthusiasmand love for the sport," Heckley said.
In addition to playing collegiate tennis, Heckley has coached andinstructed tennis at such clubs as Fremont Hills Country Club(Calif.), Los Gatos Racquet Club (Calif.), Niagara Falls CountryClub (N.Y.) and Del Mar High School (Calif.). He coached the DelMar boys' tennis team to a league title in 2007.
