Cari Groce and success are synonymous. Last season, she guided the Cougars to their fourth NCAA appearance in five years and earned Pacific-10 Conference as well as Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northwest Region Coach of the Year honors.

The Cougars also finished 29th in the 2002 ITA team rankings. WSU reached 26th in the ITA rankings twice last season, the highest ranking in school history.

Entering her 12th year with 143 career wins, Groce's expectations remain the same.

In three of her six years in the Pacific-10 Conference prior to realignment, she was honored as Pac-10 North Coach of the Year.

In August, Groce began a three-year term on the NCAA Tournament Committee for the West Region. The past three years she has served as Northwest regional chair. In addition, she was re-elected to a third term on the ITA operations committee. She has served on the ITA Tournament Committee and Awards Committee.

After just missing the NCAA tournament in 2000, Groce held strong to her team's goal of making it to the tournament in 2001. Not only did she lead her team with an 11-8 regular season record to the team championships, but Groce also saw the school's second individual singles competitor and WSU's first individual doubles team be picked to the NCAA tournament.

At 12-9 overall, the Cougars went 1-1 in NCAA play, defeating Indiana 4-0 before falling to the third ranked Tennessee Lady Vols.

In 2000 the Cougars finished 60th in the final ITA ranking, narrowly missing an NCAA appearance with an overall record of 11-12.

During the 1998-99 season, Groce guided the Cougars to their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, which produced Washington State's first NCAA individual championship qualifier. The Cougar's also finished 35th in the final ITA team rankings that year.

During the 1997-98 campaign, the Cougars went 10-10 overall. Washington State earned its first postseason berth, traveling to the NCAA West Regional in Las Vegas, Nev. In 1994, Groce also coached the Cougars to their first Pac-10 North Championship title.

In 1996, the Cougars finished the regular season with a 17-10 overall record, a perfect 4-0 mark in Pac-10 North competition and ranked 48th in the nation.

Groce was appointed to Washington State's head coaching position May 13, 1991. Prior to accepting her Cougar appointment, Groce served one year as head coach at the University of Tulsa. Groce also served as an assistant coach at Texas Tech and at Oklahoma State.

No stranger to the game, Groce was the first University of Nebraska tennis player to become an All-American. She was a four-year letter winner for the Huskers and guided them on the tennis court as team captain. She was a Big-8 Conference finalist in singles and doubles all four years. During her junior season, Groce earned NCAA/ITA All-American honors while reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament. She went on to play a stint on the WTA professional circuit.

After completing her eligibility with the Huskers, Groce moved on to Oklahoma State as an assistant coach while she completed her bachelor's degree in recreation administration and management. She is a native of Stillwater, Okla., where her mother is a retired teacher. Groce has one brother Michael who is a collegiate baseball player in Oklahoma and two sisters Christi Barr, who resides in Lawrence, Kan., and Cami Patzkowski, a schoolteacher in Allen, Texas. Groce's father, Ike, was a Hall of Fame tennis coach at Oklahoma State University.

Career Highlights:

Led the Cougars to their fourth NCAA appearance in five years in 2001-2002.

Named the Pac-10 Women's Coach of the Year and the ITA Coach of the Year for the Northwest Region in 2001-2002.

Invited to the NCAA women's tournament selection committee for a three-year term starting in 2002-2003.

Produced the Cougar's first NCAA individual championships doubles team qualifier and second singles qualifier in 2001.

Sent first WSU player to compete in the Rolex National Intercollegiate Indoor Tournament in 2001.

Led the Cougars to their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance in 1999-2000.

Produced the Cougars' first NCAA individual championships qualifier in 2000.

Guided Cougars to its first ever NCAA tournament berth in 1998.

1994, 1995 and 1996 Pac-10 North Coach of the Year.

Guided the team to second consecutive Pac-10 North Championship after finishing with a perfect record of 4-0 in Pac-10 North play.

Led the Cougars to their first ever dual match win over arch-rival Washington as WSU posted a 5-4 Pac-10 North dual match record.

Director of the highly successful Cari Groce Camp of Champions at WSU.

Turned around the WSU program that had finished the 1991 season at 6-10. In 1992, Groce's first year, team ended with a 14-9 record.

Has kept WSU women's tennis atop all WSU athletic programs in academic achievement. The team has finished six of the last nine semesters with the athletic department's best cumulative grade-point average.

Since 1994, Groce has kept the WSU women's tennis team ranked nationally.

Produced eight Academic All-Americans and three Academic All-American teams.

THE CARI GROCE FILE
Year	School		W	L	Pct.
1991	Tulsa		10	6	.625
1992	Washington State	14	9	.609
1993	Washington State	10	11	.476
1994	Washington State	19	5	.792
1995	Washington State	13	9	.591
1996	Washington State	17	10	.589
1997	Washington State	7	15	.333
1998	Washington State	10	10	.500
1999	Washington State	9	11	.450
2000	Washington State	11	12	.478
2001	Washington State	12	9	.571
2002	Washington State	11	11	.500
Career Total	12 Years	143	118	.548

Cari Groce Position: Head Coach Experience: 12th Year Alma Mater: Nebraska (Four-year Letter Winner), Oklahoma State '88