June 25, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. –
University of South Carolina men’s tennis head coach Josh Goffi announced today that Matt Lucas will join his staff as an assistant coach. Lucas returns to the Southeast after two seasons serving as the director of tennis and men’s tennis head coach at the University of the Pacific where he compiled a 22-18 record.

“My first goal starting up was to hire the best possible coach to assist me, and I believe I have accomplished this by hiring Matt,” Goffi said. “I have known Matt for 15 years, and I truly think he is one of the best young coaches in the country. He represents everything I wanted in an assistant coach, and I’m looking forward to building a championship program with him.”

“Knowing Josh for the last 15 years, it’s really a privilege to get to work with him at South Carolina,” Lucas said. “I’m honored and grateful for the opportunity to coach at such a great school with a rich athletic history. Josh and I are both committed to building a championship men’s tennis program to represent Gamecock nation.”

In his first season at Pacific (2008-09), Lucas led the Tigers to the No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference Tournament and a national ranking as high as No. 52 behind a 13-6 overall record. In 2009-10, Lucas’ Tigers finished 9-12 overall and 3-2 in conference play. A Tiger was the BWC Player of the Year both seasons Lucas was at the helm, and his players combined for 13 all-conference selections.

Lucas spent three seasons as an assistant at Princeton (2005-08) prior to accepting the head coaching position at Pacific. The Tigers climbed as high as No. 50 in the rankings during his tenure, and he helped produce seven all-conference players.

While serving as the director of junior tennis development at Chapel Hill Country Club in Chapel Hill, N.C. (2003-05), Lucas also played professional tennis in both the United States and overseas.

Lucas began his college tennis career at Appalachian State where he earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 1998, also earning a spot on the all-conference team. After playing in the Mountaineers’ No. 1 spot as a sophomore, Lucas transferred to North Carolina State for his final two seasons. Playing his entire Wolfpack career in the top two spots of both singles and doubles, he saw his singles ranking reach No. 63 as a junior.

Lucas earned his bachelor’s degree in humanities from N.C. State in 2002.