Chris Williams was named the 10th women's tennis head coach in Bradley history June 18, 2012 and is in his first year leading the Braves program.
"The arrival of Chris Williams signals the beginning of a new era for Bradley Women's Tennis," said Director of Athletics Dr. Michael Cross. "Chris is a very hard worker, he is thoughtful and he will raise our competitive expectations as soon as he steps on the court. His leadership and standards will be important parts of our program's growth."
Williams, who brought six years of collegiate coaching experience with him to The Hilltop, came to Bradley from the United States Air Force Academy, where he worked as the men's assistant the previous two seasons and helped the Falcons to an 11-13 record in 2012 for the program's best win total since 2007. He previously served as a women's assistant at Iowa State from 2007-10 and as the men's tennis head coach at Buena Vista University in 2004.
Williams helped the Cyclones to milestone accomplishments during his three seasons in Ames, including a program-best national ranking (66th) by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association during the 2009-10 campaign. His recruiting efforts helped Iowa State sign Mexico's #1 ranked player (Maria Macedo), a top-10 player from Canada (Marie-Christine Chartier) and four of the top 100 U.S. players (Jenna Langhorst, Jasmine Lee, Emily Pietruszynski and Megan Cassens).
In between his college coaching positions at Buena Vista and Iowa State, Williams was the Director of Junior Tennis at the Ames (Iowa) Racquet and Fitness Center and a team coach for the Iowa District Boys and Girls 12-and-under program. He also served as the head tennis professional at the 7 Flags Fitness and Racquet Club in 2004-05.
Williams earned his bachelor's degree in sports and fitness management, as well as a minor in business, from Buena Vista in 2004. He played tennis for the Beavers and teamed with Nate Stuck to win the 2002 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title at No. 2 doubles.
Williams and his wife, Nikki, are the parents of a 2-year-old daughter, Reese.