Chad Camper wrapped up his eighth season as the head coach of the Mocs women's tennis program following the 2023-24 season. He joined UTC on Aug. 4, 2016 after spending the previous three seasons as the head coach at Louisiana Tech.
Camper led the Mocs to a 14-8 overall record in the 2022-23 season and a 3-4 mark inside Southern Conference action. Camper earned his 100th career collegiate victory as a head coach with a season-opening 4-3 win at UNC Asheville on January 15, 2023.
The 2022-23 season featured an eight-match win streak which spanned nearly a month and led the team to a No. 70 ITA National Ranking, the program's best since a No. 66 position in 2020-21. Camper led the team to four All-SoCon selections which included familiar program faces in Jessie Young and Caroline Gibbens, in addition to transfer students Rozalie Dohnalova and Lucia Garrigues-Melendez.
The academic laurels continue in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association ranks as the program has been named an ITA All-Academic team every season under Camper. The program set a record in 2022 with 10 student-athletes earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors, improving on the old record of seven which was set in 2021.
Chattanooga finished with a 14-9 overall record in 2021-22 and ended the Southern Conference slate with a 4-3 tally. The team advanced to the SoCon semifinal round for the first time since 2017-18 after defeating fifth-seeded Wofford in the quarterfinals.
The 2021-22 campaign saw the doubles team of Emma Van Hee and Nicole Abel finish a perfect 12-0 overall which included an unblemished 7-0 record in SoCon match ups. Van Hee and Abel were the first duo to go undefeated in the SoCon slate since 2013 and were the first tandem to earn First Team All-SoCon honors in doubles since 2016. The pair finished the year ranked No. 7 in the final ITA Ohio Valley Regional rankings.
Camper was also responsible for the development of Van Hee during her five-year playing career at UTC. Van Hee finished her career ranked fourth all-time at UTC in singles wins (80) and fourth in doubles wins (80). During her career, Van Hee was a four-time Academic All-SoCon selection, a five-time ITA Scholar-Athlete honoree, finished with a perfect 4.0 overall GPA in the classroom, and was awarded the prestigious Dayle May Award in 2022 which honors the highest GPA among student-athletes at UTC.
During the 2020-21 campaign Camper led the program to a 66th ITA National Team Ranking which featured a doubles duo of Emma van Hee and Caroline Gibbens who earned a No. 76 National Ranking after defeating the University of Tennessee No. 1 doubles team that was ranked No. 8 in the country. The squad saw a 9-9 overall finish for the season.
UTC has also been very successful in the classroom. The Mocs set a school record with six individuals earning a spot on the ITA All-Academic Team in 2019-20. Chattanooga also posted a program record 3.78 team GPA in the spring of 2020 before besting that mark following the 2022 Spring semester with a 3.83 team GPA.
The Mocs were 10-8 in 2018 with Emma Van Hee earning a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman team. After going 8-13 in 2019, the Mocs were looking strong with an 8-5 mark in 2020 before the COVID-19 shutdown.
Camper took over a young team with a thin roster that still managed to post a 14-8 record in his first year at Chattanooga in 2017. Samantha Caswell earned the first of two All-SoCon singles honors in Camper's first year, teaming with Rachele Gazzola for second team doubles recognition.
Camper was 36-25 record in three years at Louisiana Tech. Twice named the Louisiana Coach of the Year, his Lady Techsters ranked as high as No. 66 in the nation in 2016.
LA Tech posted a 15-7 record in 2016, the fourth-most wins in school history. It was the third year in a row the program produced three All-Conference USA players.
Prior to LA Tech, Camper was the associate head men’s and women’s tennis coach at his alma mater, Wright State. Prior to being promoted, he served three years as an assistant coach for the Raiders.
As a full-time assistant, the Lima, Ohio native was actively involved in the recruitment of future collegiate players both locally and internationally. Camper recruited the 2012 men's Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and the 2012 men's Horizon League Player of the Year, while also coaching the men's team to the Horizon Conference regular season title in 2011-12.
On the women's side, Camper helped take a WSU women's program with a previous 1-21 record to having three successful seasons, including a 14-win season in 2011.
Camper owns many Wright State tennis records (1998-02) graduating with a degree in Social Science Education in 2004. He was the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now Horizon League) Player of the Year as well as the Wright State Male Athlete of the Year in 2001 leading his team to the conference championship.
He set the school record for singles wins with 98 and ranked second in doubles (77) and career combined wins (175). Camper competed professionally on the ATP Tour from 2002-04.
CAMPER'S CAREER RECORD
| Year |
School |
Overall Record |
League Record |
League Finish |
| 2014 |
Louisiana Tech |
14-7 |
3-1 |
4th |
| 2015 |
Louisiana Tech |
7-11 |
0-2 |
13th |
| 2016 |
Louisiana Tech |
15-7 |
1-2 |
3rd |
| 2017 |
Chattanooga |
14-8 |
4-3 |
3rd |
| 2018 |
Chattanooga |
10-8 |
4-3 |
4th |
| 2019 |
Chattanooga |
8-13 |
1-6 |
7th |
| 2020 |
Chattanooga |
8-5 |
1-1 |
* |
| 2021 |
Chattanooga |
9-9 |
2-5 |
5th |
| 2022 |
Chattanooga |
14-9 |
4-3 |
4th |
| 2023 |
Chattanooga |
14-8 |
3-4 |
5th |
| 2024 |
Chattanooga |
8-14 |
1-6 |
6th |
|
at Chattanooga |
85-74 (.535) |
20-31 (.392) |
|
|
Totals |
121-99 (.550) |
24-36 (.400) |
|
*2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic
