Aug. 8, 2005

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Former Tiger men's tennis player Mark Finnegan becomes the second Tiger in as many years to make a move to the coaching ranks, as Finnegan has taken on the assistant women's tennis coaching position at the University of Memphis it was announced by Lady Tiger head coach Charlotte Peterson, Monday.

Finnegan graduated from Memphis in May with a degree in finance and has been teaching tennis at Leftwich Tennis Center. He will continue teaching at Leftwich while serving as the part-time assistant coach for Peterson.

Finnegan capped his two-year Tiger career in 2005 with a 28-21 mark in singles and a 12-6 mark in doubles after battling a shoulder injury after transferring to Memphis from Georgia Southern following his sophomore year. He was named the Conference USA Men's Tennis Player of the Week on Mar. 22nd of last year after helping Memphis to an upset win at South Alabama. That win propelled the Tigers back into the national rankings for the first time on the season. Finnegan and junior Alex Jago would finish the year with a 12-6 record at No. 3 doubles after starting the season winning seven of their first eight doubles matches.

Prior to his Tiger career, Finnegan was the No. 1 singles player at Georgia Southern. He was the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in his first collegiate season and was named Team MVP and to the All-Southern Conference team after going 8-2 at No. 3 singles as a freshman.

A graduate of the Institute of Education in Dublin, Ireland, Finnegan competed in the Irish Indoor Tennis Championships in the U 18, U16 and U 12 age groups and was ranked the No. 1 junior in Ireland at ages 12, 14, 16 and 17.

Finnegan is the second Tiger in as many years to make the move into coaching. Former teammate Lee Taylor Walker is currently the Tiger assistant coach with the men's tennis program. Walker completed his first season in coaching earlier this spring.