Sacred Heart Announces Hire of Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach

BY: JOSEPH SIEGEL

Staff Writer

Sacred Heart University announced the hiring of William Boe-Wiegaard to serve as the men’s and women’s tennis head coach. Boe-Wiegaard comes to Sacred Heart following a 13-year professional career on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) tours, according to a press release by Sacred Heart Athletic Communications.

The Pioneers have won a conference best seven Brenda Weare Commissioner’s Cups. The Pioneers have captured back-to-back triple crowns, claimed the Commissioner’s Cup, the Northeast Conference (NEC) Institutional Academic Award and NEC Building Communities Award the past two seasons. This made Sacred Heart the first school in conference history to achieve that honor.

Preparing to reach their goal of bringing an NCAA championship to Sacred Heart, both teams had their first practice on Sep. 5.

“We want to become good competitors,” Boe-Wiegaard said. “We can’t stress it enough, we want all our players to become very good problem solvers.”

Boe-Wiegaard wants all of his players to fulfill their potential. He believes that being good competitors will get them to their goal.

Bobby Valentine, the Executive Director of Athletics, helped Boe-Wiegaard with the recruiting process prior to the season.

“I look forward to working with Bobby Valentine for years to come to recruit the best athletes for our program,” said Boe-Wiegaard.

Boe-Wiegaard is looking forward to watching all of his players this season, but has his eyes set on the potential of freshmen Laura Crivei and Luca Casalduc.

Crivei, a native of Canada, is showcasing her talents for the women’s team.

“My teammates are already my best friends and help motivate me in practice and in tournaments,” said Crivei. “Coach is such a positive person on and off the court and he motivates me to give it my all in practice and in matches.”

Crivei hopes to improve her game and fitness level in order to get to the finals of the NEC conference championships. Boe-Wiegaard believes that Crivei has the potential to be one of the best players on the women’s team.

“She is very talented and is gifted with physical abilities,” said Boe-Wiegaard. “She is very tall compared to the other women we have on the team. My staff and I have significant optimism she can be one of our best players.”

Casalduc, from Puerto Rico, is another player to watch for this upcoming season.

“Put aside his talents, Luca is a player that wants be pushed to the edge. He wants all his teammates and coaches to make him the best player he can be on and off the field,” Boe-Wiegaard said. “He will go through the wall for the team and he has stuck out to me surely through the first two weeks.”

Boe-Wiegaard is striving to get all of his players on the same page both on and off the field.

“Our biggest goal is for everyone to be as professional as they can,” Boe-Wiegaard said. “As a team were striving for each player to better themselves on and off the court.”

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