GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG men's tennis coach Thomas Mozur has announced his resignation from the program, effective immediately, as he has accepted the Junior Academy Director position at the Raleigh Racquet Club. A search for his replacement will begin immediately.
“I want to thank Kim Record for the opportunity to work with her staff for the last four years,” Mozur said. “It has been a positive learning experience. I also have to thank Nelson Bobb, Cathy Roberts and Jeff Trivette for hiring me in 2002. Moving to Greensboro and working at UNCG for the last 13 years was the best decision I have ever made. In short, I walk away from the UNCG men's tennis program without regret. The program is better now than when I started, I gave my 100% effort everyday and feel that all my players improved drastically on and off the court during my time.”
Mozur has been part of the UNCG tennis program for the past 13 years, the last 11 as head coach. Since he took over as head coach, the Spartans have shown consistent progress, culminating in UNCG's first Southern Conference Championship title in school history and first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament in 2009-10. Mozur has led UNCG to a combined 69-36 record in the last five seasons, with the Spartans going 35-13 in league play during that time and finishing in the top four in the regular season SoCon standings each year. The Spartans have been dominant at home posting three undefeated seasons in 2010, 2013 and 2014 suffering just five home losses in four years.
“I want to thank Thomas for his years of dedication and service to our men's tennis program,” Director of Athletics Kim Record said. “Thomas came to work every day with a passion and work ethic that will be difficult to replace. We wish he and his wife Elena all the best. They will always be part of the Spartan family.
Mozur is the all-time winningest coach in UNCG men's tennis history with 101 career victories and won 14 matches for the second-straight season in 2014. The Spartans were 8-1 at home with their only loss coming indoors at the first match of the season against Coastal Carolina (L, 4-3). Senior Ahmet Sarioglu was named first team All-Conference in singles, while James Dougherty and Randy Phillips were second team All-Conference in doubles.
“This is a great opportunity for my family at the Raleigh Racquet Club and a decision that was not easy make,” Mozur said. “My wife and I are very excited about the change and looking forward to the new challenges ahead.”
In 2013, the Blue and Gold won 14 matches, including starting the season with a perfect 7-0 record and had a stretch of seven wins in a row from March 19 through April 9. The Spartans fell in the SoCon quarterfinals against Chattanooga, 4-3. Junior Ahmet Sarioglu was named first team All-Conference in singles, while James Dougherty and Randy Phillips were first team All-Conference in doubles. Sophomore Randy Phillips was second team All-SoCon at No. 4 singles. Sarioglu and freshman Daniel Mack were second team All-Conference in doubles and Dougherty made the All-Freshman team. Phillips and Dougherty ended the year ranked No. 85 in the ITA rankings and the team finished No. 9 in the Carolina Regional ranking.
In 2012, UNCG won nine matches, including a solid 6-4 record in SoCon play with wins against Elon (4-3), Appalachian State (4-3), at Furman (5-2), Davidson (5-2), The Citadel (7-0) and Georgia Southern (4-3).The Spartans fell 4-1 in the SoCon quarterfinals against Furman to end the season. Senior Orcun Seyrek was named SoCon Player of the Year as well as first team all-conference. Sophomore Ahmet Sarioglu made second team all-conference at No. 2 singles and freshman Randy Phillips made the all-freshman team. Seyrek and Sarioglu made first team all-conference in doubles as well.
2011 brought more of the same success that UNCG has come to expect under Mozur, as the team posted its third straight 15-win season, going 15-6 overall and 8-2 in the SoCon. The Spartans led the league for much of the season and were still in contention for the regular-season title heading into the final week of play. Junior Orcun Seyrek was named All-Southern Conference in singles for the third straight season, while Timion Meijs joined him on the first team for doubles. Freshman Ahmet Sarioglu was a second-team performer, while Sarioglu and Chanon Varapongsittikul earned SoCon All-Freshman honors.
Mozur guided UNCG to a SoCon-best 17 wins to go with just six losses in 2010, including an 8-2 mark in league play for the Spartans' second consecutive third-place finish. UNCG led the league for much of the season, jumping out to an 8-0 start before dropping its final two contests. The Spartans rebounded in the SoCon Championship, claiming one of the four spots in the shortened tournament and downing Furman – which handed UNCG one of its two SoCon losses – and Elon for their first league tournament title since winning the Big South in 1995. UNCG also finished the season ranked 10th in the Carolina region.
Playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time at any level (Division I, II or III), UNCG dropped a 4-0 decision to six-time NCAA champion Georgia on its home court.
Then-sophomore Seyrek set a school record for individual wins in 2010, going 28-6 and winning 19 of his final 21 singles matches. He was a first-team All-SoCon selection for the second straight season, earning the honor in both singles and doubles with partner Arsel Kumdereli.
Mozur's 2008-09 team set the stage for the 2010 version, going 15-8 overall and picking up its first postseason win in seven years with a 4-2 victory over Georgia Southern in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament.
In addition to the team success, UNCG had individual success that year as Seyrek swept Southern Conference Freshman and Player of the Year honors. He became the first freshman in 19 years to claim the league's top honor and it marked the first time someone had won both awards since the freshman of the year award was established in 1992. Seyrek became UNCG's first men's tennis conference player of the year since the athletics program moved to Division I in 1991.
As a junior player, Mozur was ranked as high as No. 1 in the state of Tennessee, 10th in the Southern Section and 100th nationally. Mozur, a four-year letterwinner at the University of Tennessee, was the 1994 SEC Flight B indoor doubles champion. As a senior in 1997, he was named team captain for the Volunteers. He was also ranked No. 2 in the nation in father/son doubles.
Mozur came to UNCG after running the Junior Development program for five years at The Knoxville Racquet Club. There, he was in charge of developing tournament players and his efforts helped to triple the program in size. Mozur also worked at the USTA Area Training Center in Tennessee for three years and assisted in many camps.
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