Miller steps down as M. Tennis coach

As the Penn men's tennis team prepared to hit the road, coach Gene Miller announced his upcoming retirement. Blue skies await the Penn men's tennis team as it heads out to the Sunshine State for spring break. Things aren't as sunny at home, however, as Penn coach Gene Miller announced his retirement Monday, citing "personal reasons" for his exit. Miller will leave when his contract expires June 30. As the Quakers (3-3) head out to the Pacific Coast Doubles tournament in San Diego, Calif., and a series of matches against William and Mary, Notre Dame, UC-Irvine and Pepperdine, Miller knows that this will be his final shot at leading the Quakers to an Ivy Championship. "There are some things personally that I need to sort out," Miller said. "I've been thinking about this for a while -- about a year and a half." Player reaction to the news was one of acceptance and understanding, despite its arrival so early in the season. "[Miller's retirement] wasn't a big surprise," junior Jordan Szekely said. "But I think that some of the younger guys, especially the freshmen, were shocked." Miller has coached the Red and Blue for the past seven years, instituting several new elements to the program. In the past few years, Penn's coach has scheduled the Quakers with some of the toughest teams in the nation, including top-10 teams like Florida and Illinois. In doing so, he has led Penn to a national ranking. "I came in to change a program that I thought was underfunded at the time, not playing a big-time schedule and undisciplined," Miller said. "I also wanted to add great events like the Penn Conference Classic." In addition to his coaching accomplishments, Miller assisted in the creation of the Hall of Fame in Levy Pavilion's indoor courts. The Hall was developed with the assistance of Penn alumni and includes biographies and photographs of outstanding past players, coaches and benefactors. Before coaching at Penn, Miller coached four years at Navy, two years at Catholic H.S. in Pensacola, Fla., and two years for a junior college. In addition to coaching, Miller also teaches a class in leadership and ethics Wednesday nights for ROTC and is a ranking officer in the Navy Reserves. In his tenure with the Quakers, Miller has had plenty of time to create memorable moments. "My favorite memory is the night of the first time we beat Princeton away; it seemed like [the team] was in a zone and I just knew it was going to happen." Miller said. "The next one was the Hall of Fame Banquet [November 21, 1997]. It was a tremendous thing to see all the alumni, players, men and women. It was the entire tennis program in a tux, and it was a great event." While Miller leaves his program in the hands of a new coach, he intends to assist the administration in finding the right one for the team. However, he believes his team has enough leadership to take the Quakers to the next level. "We've been trying to groom leaders, especially with the juniors and seniors." Miller said. "You'd be surprised with who it will be, but somebody is going to step it up." The Quakers will have to rise to the occasion this coming week in their first set of outdoor matches. While the Pacific Coast Doubles do not count toward Penn's record, they offer the team a chance to prepare for its later matches against powerhouses like the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish and the UC-Irvine Anteaters which count toward the season mark. "The Pacific Coast Doubles tournament is among the best in the country," Miller said "Pros and amateurs play in it as do some of the best collegiate teams, including some of our opponents." The Quakers believe that Miller's impending retirement will impact these matches as well as the rest of the season in a positive way. "He's a strict coach and sets pretty high standards." Szekely said,"He might actually be tougher because he'll be finishing his Penn career out, and he wants to go out on a winning note." Miller believes that the program can only get better and offers his unknown successor some advice. "Take Penn to the highest heights, because if you believe in them there's no limits," Miller said. "To my boys, go after excellence in everything you do."