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After a stellar first season, Todd Doebler is in his second year at the helm of the Penn State men's tennis team. The program's accomplishments after just one year under Doebler speak for themselves.
Despite losing the top two players to graduation at the end of the 2006 season, Doebler led the Nittany Lions to a 16-7 overall record, a program-best 6-4 mark in the Big Ten, and ultimately, the program's fourth berth into the NCAA Championship. The Lions also finished 43rd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) final national rankings, which tied a program-best.
In addition to the NCAA berth and matching a program-best finish in the ITA rankings, Doebler guided the Nittany Lions to a host of program highlights in his first season. The Nittany Lions garnered a program-high national ranking of 34th in April, along with notching four victories against teams ranked in the top 65 nationally, including two teams in the top 30.
Along with the team's accolades, Doebler has left his mark on individuals in the program. In his first season, he helped guide Michael James to All-Big Ten honors, four victories over ranked opponents and a final singles ranking of No. 59.
His recruiting prowess has also advanced in his first year at Penn State after landing the 13th-ranked recruiting class in the nation, which included three five-star recruits and an Australian standout.
Along with the success on the court, the Nittany Lions succeeded in the classroom as well. In all, seven Nittany Lions garnered a spot on the 2007 Academic All-Big Ten list by carrying a 3.0 GPA or better.
A native of Hatfield, Pa., Doebler brought a wealth of coaching experience to Happy Valley in 2006. Doebler, who was named the 2004 and 2006 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year, came to Penn State after four years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame. He was named associate head coach prior to the 2005-06 season.
While in South Bend, Doebler helped the Irish move into the elite ranks of men's intercollegiate tennis. In his final year at Notre Dame, Doebler helped the Irish finish No. 17 in the ITA poll, defeat 14 ranked teams and advance to the Big East Conference Championship Finals. Doebler also helped develop the talent of Sheeva Parbhu, who was named an ITA All-American this past season after advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship. Doebler served as recruiting coordinator, as well as a liaison to the strength and conditioning coaches while at Notre Dame.
Prior to his stint with the Irish, he was an assistant at Pepperdine University in 2001 and '02, helping the Waves achieve national prominence both years. During his time at Pepperdine, the Waves compiled a 43-14 (.754) mark. In 2001, the Waves won the West Coast Conference title, advanced to the NCAA round of 16 and finished 18th in the nation. The following year, Pepperdine was 25-6, reached the NCAA quarterfinals, and finished No. 5 in the polls. Doebler coached three All-Americans at Pepperdine, including Al Garland, who was ranked No. 1 in the nation during the 2002 season.
Prior to his time at Pepperdine, Doebler served as head coach at Connecticut College for men's and women's tennis, as well as men's and women's squash for two years. Doebler began his coaching career at Trinity (Conn.) College in 1997 where he served as an assistant for one year for one of the top-ranked Division III tennis programs in the nation.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Doebler served as an assistant coach to the World Team Tennis' Hartford Foxforce in the summer of 2000, which featured players such as Monica Seles, James Blake and Murphy Jensen. His responsibilities included on-court coaching, conducting promotional clinics and pro-ams and overseeing community involvement.
Doebler also came to Penn State with experience as a teaching professional. He served as the head tennis professional at Lehigh Country Club in Lehigh, Pa. during the summers of 1993 and 1994 and as the assistant tennis pro at the Farmington Field Club in Connecticut in the summers of 1997 and 1998. He is a graduate of the USA High Performance Coaching Program, and holds certifications from the Professional Level One United States Professional Tennis Association and the USTA Sports Science Level One.
A 1996 graduate of Bloomsburg University, with a degree in psychology, Doebler also excelled on the court during his playing career. He won the conference doubles and team championships in 1994, as well as the conference singles, doubles and team championship titles in 1995. A graduate of North Penn High School in suburban Philadelphia, Doebler completed his master's degree in psychology in 1998 from the University of Hartford.
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