CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois men’s tennis head coach Brad Dancer has added former player Zeke Clark to the 2023-24 coaching staff as a full-time assistant coach.
“It is nothing but a privilege to be able to dip my toes into the coaching ranks with the university that gave and means so much to me,” Clark said. “I consider myself so fortunate to be able to work under Brad and Tim, who are the best in the business. Things are rolling here in Champaign, and I am stoked to be a part of it.”
Before stepping into a coaching role, Clark competed on the pro circuit from 2021-2023, reaching a doubles ranking as high as 209 and a singles ranking as high as 469.
During his five-year playing career for the Fighting Illini, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native totaled 104 singles wins, a mark that ranks 14th in program history.
“What an incredible human to add to our staff,” Dancer said. “Zeke’s dedication, energy and love of competition is renowned and unmatched. He’s inquisitively curious about other people, how to dive into their animal spirit and get the most out of them. Not only will Zeke excel as a coach, but prospective student-athletes everywhere will come to know Zeke on the recruiting trail and understand the passion around our school and program.”
In his first year at Illinois, Clark had a 17-12 singles record and helped the Illini to wins over a pair of ranked opponents – No. 16 Northwestern and No. 14 Michigan. He also helped the Illini to a season-high No. 17 in the ITA National Rankings.
In his sophomore year, Clark had a 21-7 overall singles record, ending the season with a 13-match winning streak. He qualified for the ITA Midwest Regional Singles tournament and earned Academic All-Big Ten and ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.
The following season, Clark had the second-most wins on the team with a 28-13 record in singles. Clark clinched four matches for the Illini and had a ranked win over No. 28 Jackie Tang of Columbia, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. He also was awarded 2019 First-Team All-Big Ten honors.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, Clark had notched a 17-10 record in singles play and 5-3 in doubles.
Clark made the most of his fifth year, ranking as high as No. 28 in the singles rankings and No. 14 in doubles with his partner Alex Brown. Clark started the season on a 15-match win streak and went 10-0 at No. 3 singles…
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