Bio

Andrew Girard's 18 years as head coach of the women's tennis program at Carnegie Mellon University has been nothing short of superior. From the beginning, Girard has built the program into a national power as 15 of the past 16 seasons (not including the canceled season of 2019-20) have seen the team reach the NCAA postseason, with the past 17 teams earning a national ranking in the top 20. Ten of the past 13 seasons the team has finished in the top 10 in the country, with the 2019 team earning the seventh spot in the rankings following a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA Championship and the 2020 team finishing fifth in the shortened season.

The program has seen tremendous success at team national championships. Six of the last 12 seasons the team has advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals. In 2009, the team won the ITA Division III National Team Indoor Championship while it finished second on five consecutive occasions (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). The 2020 team placed third at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship topping long-time cross-country rival Pomona-Pitzer and went a combined 6-2 against nationally ranked teams falling only to the second and third ranked teams in the nation.

The start of the 2020-21 season was delayed and many Tartan veterans chose to not compete due to COVID-19. That didn't stop Girard from leading his program to the NCAA Championships where the team advanced to the third round before falling in a tightly contested match, 5-3. The team finished the year ranked 13th in the nation with junior Lindy Cornwall and sophomore Bin Zheng earning All-America honors for their doubles play and Cornwall for her singles play.

Girard's 2018 recruiting class put two freshmen in the final lineup with Danna Taylor earning the program's second ITA National Rookie of the Year award. Taylor, along with sophomore Melissa Strome, finished as the national runner-up at the ITA Oracle Cup while Taylor finished fifth in the singles bracket.

The 2017 squad returned to the NCAA Championship, advanced to the round of 16, and closed the year ranked 10th in the nation. Girard was named ITA Atlantic South Coach of the Year for the third time after leading the Tartans to 12 wins against nationally ranked opponents. In 2018, the Tartans once again advanced to the NCAA Round of 16, finished 11th in the national rankings, and had four athletes earn five All-America honors.

Despite missing entry to the NCAA Championship for the first time in 11 years, the 2016 women's team was recognized with a national ranking of 12 at year’s end. The team also finished as the runner-up at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fifth straight year. Two singles players earned the right to compete at the NCAA Championships for their first time with senior Brooke Tsu earning All-America honors alongside the doubles pair of junior Vanessa Pavia and sophomore Cori Sidell who won the USTA/ITA South Atlantic Regional Doubles title. Additionally, Tsu was named the NCAA Division III Most Improved Player by the ITA while Abbey Hamstra was recognized as the Atlantic South Arthur Ashe Jr. for Leadership and Sportsmanship honoree with freshman Jamie Vizelman earning rookie of the year for the region.

Girard's 12th year saw the Tartans reach a national ranking of five and finish second at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The team returned to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals and had three players compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship with sophomore Vanessa Pavia, senior Bryn Raschke and freshman Cori Sidell earning All-America honors.

In Girard's 11th year at the helm, the Tartans returned to the NCAA Quarterfinals and witnessed junior Angela Pratt earn All-America honors after advancing to the round of 16 at the NCAA Singles Championship. Additionally, senior Katie Cecil was named the NCAA Elite 90 winner for Division III women's tennis for the second consecutive year.

With just one senior in the line-up for the 2012-13 team, the women finished second in the UAA and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship. Katie Cecil earned All-America honors for her play at the NCAA Singles Championship and was named the ITA National Arthur Ashe Jr. for Leadership and Sportsmanship award winner. Angela Pratt joined Cecil to compete at the NCAA Doubles Championship, making eight years a Tartan duo has represented Carnegie Mellon on the national stage under Girard.

The 2011-12 team defeated nine nationally ranked opponents and finished with the program’s highest ever year-end national ranking of #5. Two singles players and a doubles pair earned All-America distinction while Cze-Ja Tam was honored nationally as the Arthur Ashe Jr. Award recipient. Katie Cecil was also honored by the ITA, as the National Player to Watch. Girard closed the year earning his second ITA Atlantic South Coach of the Year honor.

Also the head coach of the Carnegie Mellon men’s team from 2004 through the fall of 2017, Girard has amassed a career victory total of 510. His teams have made the NCAA tournament a combined 22 times. They have also competed in 17 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, with 12 top-four finishes. In regards to individual player honors, Girard has had the privilege of mentoring players that have been named All-America 70 times. During his tenure, players have qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship 30 times, and doubles teams have appeared in the NCAA Doubles Championship 15 times. Additionally, he has had players advance in singles (12 times) and doubles (11 times) to the ITA National Small College Championships, with 12 top-three finishes including two ITA National Singles Championships. Girard has been named Atlantic South Coach of the Year six times, and in 2010 was named the ITA/Wilson National Men’s Coach of the Year.

Girard places tremendous value on academic success, and fittingly the teams have earned numerous academic honors over the last 18 seasons. The Carnegie Mellon teams have been named an ITA All-Academic Team 33 times and have had players named ITA Scholar Athletes 188 times.

Girard came to Carnegie Mellon from Northern Michigan University, where he served as an assistant for their nationally ranked women’s tennis team. While at NMU, the team qualified for the Division II National Championship and reached the round of 16. NMU was ranked as high as #24 in the country and #2 in the Midwest region.

In addition to collegiate coaching experience, Girard has had extensive work with junior tennis development. He was in charge of the junior tennis programs in Marquette, Michigan, for twelve summers. He also spent six years as a volunteer assistant coach for the Marquette Senior High School boys’ tennis team, and in each of those seasons the team won the Upper Peninsula state championship.

Girard played his collegiate tennis for Michigan Technological University. While at MTU, he was named to the all-conference team three times, and was named the team MVP for the 1999-2000 season, the year in which the team compiled the most victories in the program’s fifty year history. Girard is among the school’s all-time leaders in singles and doubles wins. A two-time Academic All-America selection, he finished with a 4.00 GPA and received a bachelor’s degree from MTU in biological sciences. Girard later returned and received an education degree, and spent a year at Marquette Senior High School as a teacher of both chemistry and AP chemistry.

In 2015, Girard graduated from Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business with his Master's in Business Administration.