View To A Dream – Moore Hired To Restore IU Tennis Glory
6/14/2024 11:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- From a windowless Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall office, Gabrielle Moore enjoys a view to a dream.
Indiana's new women's tennis coach sees a program on the rise, a program rich in tradition and potential, a program that's a new guiding voice – her voice -- and a boosted team culture away from something special.
For Moore, vision, belief and imagination can do what a window can't -- display a future of Cream 'n Crimson possibilities.
"It was always the dream to be here," Moore says. "The passion that I have for coaching as a young Midwestern girl who grew up in the Big Ten and who will make a change in this program. I think IU women's tennis future is really bright."
From the wreckage of a 6-20 season (0-11 in the Big Ten) that resulted in a coaching change comes a new coach with Chicago roots, Louisiana experience and a turnaround plan.
"I've had the most success when my teams had the best culture," Moore says.
Moore resurrected programs at McNeese State and Jackson State with a focus on culture building and player development. She led McNeese State to a two-year record of 35-10, including 20-4 this past season. McNeese State had won just six total matches in the previous three years combined.
At Jackson State, Moore coached the women's and men's programs. The women went 26-11 in her last two seasons while winning Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in both years. The 2022 team also won the conference tourney to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. That earned her SWAC coach-of-the-year honors. The men went 8-8 in her final season.
To add perspective, Moore did this by going from coaching novice to college head coach in less than two years.
"I had to learn a lot for myself about what worked and what didn't," she says. "Most of it was culture. I put that at the forefront."
Moore's results impressed athletic director Scott Dolson. The quality of her character impressed him more.
"Gabby's track record of success at McNeese and Jackson State immediately jumped out on paper," Dolson said in a university release. "When we talked with her in person, we knew we had the right person to lead our program. She has a vision for returning IU Women's Tennis to a level of Big Ten and national success that it has previously enjoyed, and her commitment to the well-being and growth of her student-athletes is second to none."
Moore doesn't coach from a tower or a seat. She gets on the court with her players, works with them with the intensity she once showed as an All-SWAC doubles player at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. from 2012-15. Fitness now comes from running, with a marathon and other races on her resume.
"I'm very competitive," she says. "I can't move like I used to, but I was really confident as a player. I do like to still get out there and touch the racquet."
When the IU job opened on May 9, Moore quickly told IU officials she was interested. A Chicago native, she wanted to return to the Midwest after spending all of her college playing career, and most of her coaching tenure, in the south. She also wanted the chance to prove herself at the highest level.
"I was looking for the next level, that next step," she says. "The goal had always been the Big Ten. It's what I grew up watching with Northwestern and Illinois.
"I wanted to be at a school with a tradition that shares the values I have as a coach. That's what attracted me to Indiana. I knew if I really wanted this position, because it's something I've dreamt about my whole career, I needed to let them know who I am."
The Hoosiers know now.
Moore's fierce competitiveness made tennis a perfect fit while growing up in the Chicago area. She started at age 7, but her passion for the sport soared when she went to Louisiana's Southern University. She made All-SWAC in each of her four seasons.
"Growing up, I had talent. I was good. I was committed. But I didn't really love tennis until college."
That love helps fuel her coaching philosophy.
"I had a great four (playing) years. One thing about winning and history is people can't take it away from you. It stays with you the rest of your life. Those are moments you can't express unless you're in it and feel it. I want that for all my players, to experience that feeling and live with it and have it for the rest of their lives.
"That's why I coach."
Moore says the key to turning a program around starts with "unity."
"We might not have always been the strongest team on paper, but it's building those relationships. It's caring about who players are as people first before their talent.
"Players have to buy into each other and the coaches. We all have to trust each other."
For Moore, trust comes as much from what's done off the court as it is on.
"It's making sure it's the team first. I want to have a relationship with the girls from Year 1 to Year 4, and long term after that. I want to be invited to the weddings, the baby showers, all the events that are important to them. I want to visit them wherever they are. That's the overall goal for me. The wins come with that. You put the priority of who they are as people first."
Moore sees a winning foundation in returning players such as Elisabeth Dunac, Magdalena Swierczynska, Nicole Teodosescu and Li Hsin Lin, along with difference-making resources that include expected indoor facility upgrades, a fully funded eight scholarships and a powerhouse NIL program.
"We have the resources to give us everything we need to be successful," Moore says.
Upgrading the talent will include the transfer portal as well as signing high school players. Moore plans to recruit near and far to find the best program fits.
"Whether it's international or domestic, I want players who want to be at Indiana. I want to have 100 percent retention. I want the girls to love it so much here that they will get IU degree. Whoever I recruit will buy into my vision and my plan. They will be eager to make a name for themselves and have pride in their university."
Moore says attributes start with "good-character kids."
"I want players who want to learn and grow. That eagerness I have as a coach to have success, I want players who also have that eagerness toward Indiana. I want players who are academically and athletically involved within the community, within Indiana. I want players who will represent this university at the highest of standards.
"This is a very important time of their lives. I want to impact them in the best way. Not only coach them, but have a relationship with them so I can help them grow into amazing women."
Moore seeks a diverse team of players from all over the country and beyond.
"That's always been important to me, to have a range of players from all over so they learn from each other."
IU's indoor facilities remain a work in progress. Upgrades are coming. More are needed given the relentless arms race associated with Big Ten and Power Five competition.
"There is hope to get the bells and whistles, the facelift, that everyone wants," Moore says, "but we have a great situation. There's always room for improvement, but I do know with this facility, there has been success.
"The administration is so supportive of making those changes. They are taking the next steps. We have a good foundation. That's what's important."
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IU women's tennis was once a national power under coach Lin Loring and associate head coach Ramiro Azcui. It won the 1982 national championship (then run by the AIAW), had 12 unbeaten Big Ten seasons and played in 23 NCAA tourneys, the last in 2013. Fourteen players earned All-American honors from 1979 to 2011. Deborah Edelman and Stephanie Reece did it three times. Heather Crowe and Kelly Mulvihill did it twice.
Crowe won the 1982 national AIAW singles title. Shawn Foltz was the 1988 ITA National Clay Courts singles champion. Mulvihill and Reece won the 1988 ITA All-American doubles title.
Moore seeks to tap into that tradition and restore the glory.
"There is so much rich history in this program," she says. "The goal is to bring that back."
Returning to that elite level will be difficult in a sport now dominated by the Big 12, the ACC, the SEC and, until it faded into history after this past season, the Pac-12.
This season, the Big Ten had just two teams ranked in the top 30 -- No. 2 Michigan and No. 12 Ohio State. The Wolverines won three NCAA tourney matches before losing to Pepperdine 4-0 in the Elite Eight.
Texas A&M won the national title.
Moore doesn't dwell on that. There are current players to develop, difference-making recruits to sign and matches to win.
College athletics have been in the news lately because of money generated by the NIL as well as the $2.7 billion damages settlement. IU and its athletes are well positioned to maximize those financial opportunities.
Still, the best programs, the title-winning programs, have players driven by more than money. Passion, dedication, work ethic and team chemistry still matter. Moore focuses on that.
"NIL plays a vital role, so having that in my back pocket helps a lot, but I'm old-school and traditional," she says. "The main concern is to get a great education. It's to be a part of a team that's like a family. I want players who pick this program because of the coaches and the people. That's what we focus on."
Understanding why Moore can thrive at IU means understanding what motivates her.
"I like a challenge. That's my personality. Tennis is a sport that is so mental. Once you're out there, you're by yourself. You have to figure it out. I love that challenge. It makes you think. It makes you grow.
"If you're not going right, you can't get subbed out. You can't sit. No one can play for you. That's given me a lot of tools in sports and life. How to get through adversity. How to find solutions. How to learn to be mentally tough.
"It's always a challenge."
Overcoming that challenge requires vision, passion and belief. For Moore, it starts with a windowless office and a view to a dream.
Players Mentioned
