State College, Pa.; August 16, 1999 -- Penn State University has named Elizabeth "Buffy" Baker as its new women's tennis head coach. Baker comes to Penn State from Boise State University.

A 1992 graduate of Florida State University, Baker has nearly a decade's worth of coaching experience under her belt, including one year as head coach at Boise State. She helped guide a young Bronco team to a 5-17 record last year and had two of her players make the All-Big West squad.

Baker is a veteran of Big Ten tennis, having served as an assistant coach at both Northwestern and Wisconsin. While at UW, she helped guide the Badgers to their first Big Ten title in 1996 and a top ten national finish. Baker assisted as the Badgers made three straight appearances in the NCAA tournament during her three seasons in Madison.

Baker began her coaching career as an assistant at Vanderbilt in 1992, moving on to Northwestern the next year. She was also the instructor at the North Carolina Outward Bound School.

An outstanding player in her own right, Baker has a long and prestigious list of accolades. She was inducted into the Florida State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997 due, in large part, to the fact that she won the FSU women's tennis Most Valuable Player Award four straight years.

A Seminole fixture at No. 1 singles and doubles, Baker achieved a national singles ranking of No. 37 and a doubles ranking of No. 17. An excellent example of the collegiate athlete, Baker won the Southwest Region Sportsmanship Award as a senior as well.

"We are pleased to add Buffy Baker to our outstanding coaching staff," Penn State Director of Athletics Tim Curley said. "She will be a welcome addition and her previous experience in the Big Ten is an important asset as well. Her exce

Ellen Perry, Associate Athletic Director at Penn State, echoed Curley's sentiments. "Coach Baker's experience at other Big Ten institutions uniquely qualifies her for Conference competition." Perry said. "We are truly excited and pleased to have her join the Penn State coaching staff.

The Lady Lions will return a very young but experienced team for Baker's first season as mentor. Red-shirt juniors Alison Barnett (Golden Valley, Minn.) and Pilar Montgomery (Santa Barbara, Calif.) as well as sophomores Rebecca Ho (Ontario, Canada) and Jan Perez (Burlingame, Calif.) should give Penn State a strong nucleus of players who each have experience at the top two spots in dual match play.