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Paul Goebel is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Tiger men's tennis program, his ninth overall season with the program after spending the four seasons prior to 2004-05 as an assistant coach at Memphis. Goebel has continued to build on the framework left in place by previous head coach Phil Chamberlain, by continuing to put together one of the toughest schedules in the country, and by adding local and regional talent to the line-up.
Goebel has now recruited every member of the Tiger roster to the team, including Co-SIDA Academic All-American Benedikt Fischer, and Jorge Vazquez, both junior college transfers from Tyler Junior College in Texas. Goebel has mixed the transfer talent in with solid prep recruiting products, including Chattanooga's Charlie Ramsay and David Henry and native Memphian Spencer Heflin, and Bartlett native K.C. Griffin. Griffin and Henry join Leon Nasemann and Jordan Smith, who each joined the Tigers in the spring of 2008 in preparing for their first full season of college tennis for the upcoming 2008-09 schedule.
Goebel continues to surround the program with strong support, hiring the program's first-ever First Team All-Conference USA honoree, Lee Taylor Walker, as his first assistant coach in 2004-05, while bringing NCAA Division II All-American Tobias Huning on board as a volunteer assistant coach in 2006-07. When Walker was promoted to the women's tennis head coach spot, Goebel brought back Alex Jago to serve as an assistant coach from Jago's native Australia. Goebel's work with tennis in the Southeast helped earn him a spot on the ITA Southeast Regional committee for the 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08 seasons, an appointment he earned from other collegiate tennis coaches in the region.
Under Goebel's guidance, the Tigers battled through adversity in 2005-06. Coming off an outstanding fall season that saw the top doubles team of James Spence and Alex Jago climb as high as No. 8 in the country, the team was dealt a blow when Jago was diagnosed with a career-ending wrist injury at the end of the fall season. Goebel was able to bring back Sam Withell to team with Spence, and the duo recovered to finish as the No. 45 ranked team in the country by the end of the spring season.
A native of Hendersonville, N.C., Goebel came to Memphis after a stellar career at Middle Tennessee, where he was an All-American. A member of the MTSU team from 1990-1994, Goebel served as the team's captain from 1992-1994 and was a four-time, all-conference player. He was also named the student-athlete of the year in 1994.
Following his collegiate playing career, Goebel served as a student assistant coach in 1995 at Middle Tennessee, also playing professionally. In 1999, Goebel was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the Men's 25 and over age group.
Goebel moved to Memphis and became a tennis professional at The Racquet Club of Memphis beginning in 1996. At The Racquet Club, Goebel has taught top national and southern-ranked juniors and has coached in a variety of area training centers, zonals and national team events.
Goebel and his wife, Shelly, have two sons, Reed and Luke and a daughter, Isabelle.
