Thornqvist Announces Retirement – Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida football had just won a second national championship in three seasons. This on the heels of the men’s basketball team winning back-to-back NCAA titles. Athletic Director Jeremy Foley was riding high and feeling good enough about the overall program; enough to have a little fun with of few of his other coaches. 
 
He tossed a question at Roland Thornqvist, his women’s tennis coach, who already had one NCAA crown in his pocket. 
 

“This puts some pressure on you guys, doesn’t it?” Foley goaded back in 2009.
 
Thornqvist offered a smile and a comeback Foley never forgot. 
 
“That’s how we like it,” he said. 
 
And that’s how Thornqvist lived it for the Gators on his way to claiming multiple Southeastern Conference and NCAA championships over a 23-season tenure at UF. That came to a sudden halt Monday with the announcement he was retiring barely a month into the fall season, but three months shy to the start of the 2025 campaign.
 
Thornqvist broke the news to his team during a meeting early Monday. Associate head coach Jeremy Bayon, who joined the women’s staff in January 2023, will take on an interim head coach role, effectively immediately, and the Gators will conduct a national search for a permanent replacement.
 
“I just think it’s time,” Thornqvist said. “It’s been a wonderful 23 years and I’ve poured my heart and soul into this. Every morning, I get up and try to do the best for the Gators. The way I do the job is hard – I’m on the court a lot – and I think I’ve been a little less effective than I want be the last few years, relying more on my assistants. Like I said, it’s just time.”
 
His final UF resume will show a record of 507-107 (and winning percentage of .826) to go with 11 Southeastern Conference regular-season championships, another 10 league tournament titles and four NCAA crowns, along the way mentoring six different Gators to nine SEC Player of the Year honors.

Maybe his last few seasons haven’t been up to Thornqvist’s sky-high standards – one trip to the NCAA round of 16 since 2018 – but his UF legacy is cemented and the squad he’ll leave behind for Bayon is in an excellent shape to contend. 
 
“The University of Florida is incredibly grateful to Roland, who has had a remarkable tenure in Gainesville, winning national and SEC championships while representing the Gators…