UC San Diego

MEDIA
• The Tennis Pros of San Diego Unmatched (10/30/24)
• Tritoncast Interview (9/14/22)
• Coaches' Corner: Timmer Willing (7/15/22)
• Willing to Help: Timmer Willing's Experience Helping Teachers Assist Students With Autism (11/12/19)
• ESPN3 Interview (12/05/19)

Timmer Willing is in his 13th season as head coach of the UC San Diego men's tennis program in 2024-25. It marks Willing's 24th season on the UC San Diego staff after serving as an assistant coach for 11 years prior to taking over the head men's position.

2024 was the final year of UC San Diego's Division I transition, with the team's nine wins its best since the move up. The Tritons finished 9-18 and were strong at home with an 8-12 record. Willing's team went 2-4 in Big West matches, finishing fifth in the conference.

Two underclassmen, Carson Lee (Second Team) and Diogo Tinoco (Honorable Mention), were named All-Big West in singles play. Pelayo Rodriguez and Zach Pellouchoud earned All-Big West Second Team for doubles. The 2024 was also honored for its success in the classroom. Phillip Lan was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and an ITA Scholar-Athlete, with William Lan, Pellouchoud and Tristan Taylor joining him as ITA Scholar-Athletes.

In 2023, the Tritons compiled an 8-10 overall record, doubling their win total from 2022. They earned victories over Nevada, Sacramento State, Loyola Marymount, Villanova, Navy, Portland State, Hawai‘i Pacific and The Citadel. The team competed at the first-ever Universal NIT Championship in Georgia and capped off the season by topping The Citadel.

The trio of Pelayo Rodriguez, Diogo Tinoco, and Daniel Traxler were named All-Big West. In addition, Joseph Teh and Traxler were Academic All-District selections by the College Sports Communicators. Sanjith Devineni, William Lan, Sahil Savasere, Teh and Traxler picked up ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades and the Tritons were once again selected as an ITA All-Academic Team.

The Tritons finished 2022 with a 4-22 record, their four wins including the program's first Division I victory and first Big West Conference victory. Six of their losses came against ranked opponents. 

In 2020-21, UC San Diego began their transition to Division I and the Big West Conference. The Tritons played nine matches in their inaugural Division I season, finishing with a record of 0-9. 

In 2019-20, the Tritons compiled a 9-4 record under Willing, with two of their losses coming to Division I opponents. After starting the season at 5-1, the Tritons debuted at No. 7 in the Oracle/ITA National Rankings, which is their highest ranking under Willing and the team's best slot since ranking sixth in 2008. During the season, UC San Diego recorded a perfect 3-0 record against nationally-ranked top-10 opponents. The Tritons were poised for continued success before the season was ultimately cut short due to COVID-19.

Over the 2018-19 season, UC San Diego posted a 10-10 record.

The Tritons finished 9-9 overall in 2017-18, qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive season. UC San Diego was ranked as high as No. 15 in the nation and won eight straight dual matches from Feb. 18-March 14. The Tritons' season ended against Azusa Pacific in the Round of 48.

In 2016-17, UC San Diego recorded an 11-11 overall record. The Tritons qualified for NCAA postseason play for the second straight year and hosted a West Regional match against Azusa Pacific. During the season, UC San Diego posted a 5-4 victory over Hawai'i Pacific, the top-ranked team in the country.

The Tritons went 14-10 in dual matches over their 2015-16 campaign and made a return to the NCAA postseason. They defeated West Region rival Azusa Pacific in the opening round to advance to the Round of 16 in Denver, where they were defeated by Northwest Missouri State.

In the national rankings, UC San Diego reached as high as No. 16 for the second straight season.

UC San Diego posted a 12-9 overall record during the 2014-15 season. The Tritons were ranked in the top 20 nationally for most of their campaign, climbing as high as No. 16.

In 2013-14, Willing led UC San Diego to a second consecutive NCAA postseason appearance as the Tritons, along with Hawai'i Pacific, qualified out of the West Region. Overall, UC San Diego went 15-10 and was ranked as high as 11th in the country.

In Willing's first season as head coach, the Tritons and Hawai'i Pacific represented the West Region at the NCAA Championships. UC San Diego defeated Southern Indiana in the opening round to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Tritons fell to West Florida. UC San Diego finished the 2012-13 season with a 13-11 dual record, ranked 14th in the nation.

Willing began his tenure at UC San Diego as an assistant coach in 2002 and has helped shape the Tritons into perennial contenders on the national and regional levels.

The men were NCAA Division II national quarterfinalists in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and recorded their best-ever finish in 2007, placing third in the country. Willing was named the 2011 ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year after helping guide the men to a perfect 20-0 record in dual matches.

On the women's side, the Tritons won seven consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) titles between 2004 and 2010.

He has been tabbed the ITA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year several times.

Prior to joining the Triton family, Willing was an assistant men's coach at Indiana University from 1994-96. He assisted the men's and women's teams at Truman State from 1991-93.

Since 1996, Willing has owned his own business in which he serves as the head tennis pro and fitness trainer at Southern California clubs. In addition, he is the fitness trainer for several tour players

Willing earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science from Truman State in 1993 and a master's degree in teaching from the University of San Diego in 2009.