Andy Brandi

Andres V. Brandi (born c. 1952) is an American college and professional tennis coach. He is currently co-head coach of the LSU Tigers tennis team with his son, Chris Brandi.

Andy Brandi
Biographical details
Bornc. 1952
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Playing career
1972–1975Trinity University
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1985–2001University of Florida
2018–LSU
Head coaching record
Overall460–43 (.915)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA
(1992, 1996, 1998)
Southeastern Conference
(1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001)
Southeastern Conference Tournament
(1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000)
Awards
SEC Coach of the Year (1987, 1988, 1993, 1996, 1998)
USPTA National Coach of the Year (1988)
USPTR National Coach of the Year (1996, 1998)
ITA National Coach of the Year (1989, 1996)
University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame

Brandi was formerly the coach of the Florida Gators women's tennis team and lead them to three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national tournament championships in the 1990s.

Early life and education

Brandi was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[1] He attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he played for the Trinity Tigers men's tennis team in NCAA Division I competition.[1] Brandi graduated from Trinity University with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1975.

In his early 20s, Brandi trained with the legendary Harry Hopman.

Coaching career

Brandi was a touring pro for several years after graduating from college, but quickly discovered his true calling was refining the technique and improving the play of other up-and-coming professional tennis players. Notably, he coached Kathy Rinaldi and Carling Bassett when they were rising talents.[2] Brandi was also the executive director of IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Brandi became the head coach of the Florida Gators women's tennis team at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida in August 1984.[3] From the 1985 season through 2001, he built the Lady Gators tennis program from a strong regional team into a national powerhouse, second only to the national rival Stanford Cardinal women's tennis team during his time the Gators' head coach. His teams won three NCAA national tournament championships (1992, 1996, 1998), and were the runners-up in five other NCAA tournaments (1988, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1999), having reached the NCAA finals eight of his seventeen seasons. Brandi's Lady Gators also won six National Indoor Tennis Championships and fourteen Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, and never finished lower than second in the SEC regular season standings.

In one unique career moment, two of Brandi's Lady Gators, Shaun Stafford and Halle Cioffi, played against each other in the individual NCAA singles championship final in 1988.[4] Gators Lisa Raymond (1992, 1993) and Jill Craybas (1996) also won individual NCAA singles championships during Brandi's tenure. In NCAA doubles championship play, three Brandi-coached doubles teams won four NCAA doubles championships: Jillian Alexander and Nicole Arendt in 1991; Dawn Buth and Stephanie Nickitas in 1996 and 1997; and Whitney Laiho and Jessica Lehnhoff in 2001.

At the time of his resignation from the Gators coaching staff, he had the highest winning percentage (.915) of any coach in NCAA tennis history, and had the fifth highest number of career victories (460) among all NCAA tennis coaches, active and retired.[5] He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as an "honorary letter winner" in 2006.[6][7]

After leaving the University of Florida, Brandi has worked for IMG Academy,[8] the Chris Everett Tennis Academy, and the Harold Solomon Tennis Institute. Currently, he is a member of the player development staff and a national coach at the United States Tennis Association.

On June 13, 2017, Andy Brandi and Chris Brandi were named co-head coaches for the LSU Tigers tennis team.[9]

Coaching Record[10]
School Year Overall Conference Record Postseason
Florida 1985 21-6 8-0 NCAA Quarterfinals
Florida 1986 17-7 9-0 DNP
Florida 1987 29-1 9-0 NCAA Semifinals
Florida 1988 29-2 9-0 NCAA Runner-Up
Florida 1989 26-3 9-0 NCAA Semifinals
Florida 1990 32-3 11-1 NCAA Runner-Up
Florida 1991 31-1 11-1 NCAA Semifinals
Florida 1992 30-0 14-0 NCAA Champions
Florida 1993 26-2 14-0 NCAA Semifinals
Florida 1994 23-6 12-2 NCAA Quarterfinals
Florida 1995 27-3 14-0 NCAA Runner-Up
Florida 1996 31-0 14-0 NCAA Champions
Florida 1997 31-1 14-0 NCAA Runner-Up
Florida 1998 27-0 14-0 NCAA Champions
Florida 1999 31-2 13-1 NCAA Runner-Up
Florida 2000 25-3 10-1 NCAA Semifinals
Florida 2001 24-3 11-0 NCAA Semifinals
LSU 2018
Total: 460-43 196-6

Tennis family

Brandi and his wife Nancy have one son, Chris, who played for coach Andy Jackson's Florida Gators men's tennis team from 2003 to 2006.[11] Chris Brandi was previously an assistant coach for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's tennis team[12] before becoming co-head coach for the men's tennis team at LSU with his father. Andy Brandi's niece, Kristina Brandi, is a former touring pro who was ranked as high as twenty-seventh in the world.

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See also

References
  1. Paul Jenkins, "Gators hire new women's tennis coach," The Gainesville Sun, pp. 1D & 4D (August 22, 1984). Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  2. Derek Catron, "Gators' Players Find Brandi's Dandy," Orlando Sentinel (April 20, 1988). Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  3. GatorZone.com, Women's Tennis History, 2001 Roster, Andy Brandi Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  4. "Stafford wins NCAA title over Cioffi," The Gainesville Sun (May 20, 1988). Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  5. "Women's Tennis Coach Andy Brandi Resigns Archived 2012-10-04 at the Wayback Machine," GatorZone.com (May 29, 2001). Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  6. F Club, Hall of Fame, Honorary Letter Winners. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  7. Robbie Andreu, "Wuerffel, Doering to enter UF Hall," Ocala Star-Banner (April 21, 2006). Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  8. Joe Schad, "UF Tennis Coach Leaves To Join IMG," Orlando Sentinel (May 30, 2001). Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  9. "LSU Tabs Brandis as Men's Tennis Co-Head Coaches". lsusports.net. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  10. "Gator Women's Tennis Roster/Bios - GatorZone.com". 2012-04-02. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  11. "Men's Tennis History, 2005 Roster". GatorZone.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  12. "2011 Men's Tennis Roster". WakeForestSports.com. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
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