Asheville Welcomes Matt Frost as New Head Men's Tennis Coach
05.22.2023 | Men's Tennis
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Matt Frost has been hired as UNC Asheville's new head men's tennis coach, announced today (Monday, May 22) by Director of Athletics Janet R. Cone.
"Matt has been a contributor to success on the tennis court and in the classroom everywhere he has been," said Cone. "All of his experience, plus his familiarity with tennis in the area including the Asheville Racquet Club will be a great asset for our men's tennis program."
Frost comes to Asheville after two seasons as the head coach at Division II Tusculum University, where he had great success building both the men's and women's programs into contenders in the competitive South Atlantic Conference. Through two seasons, Frost helped the men's program become a mainstay in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings while helping the women's program go from unranked to No. 36. He also had two individuals who earned their first national ITA singles rankings. Both years, both of his programs were recognized as ITA All-Academic Teams. He was also the SAC Coach of the Year on the women's side in 2023. Frost guided the Pioneer men's and women's teams to the NCAA Division II Tournament during the 2023 season, leading both teams to identical 17-7 overall records and 11-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. Both the Tusculum men's and women's teams finished as runner-up in the SAC Championship Tournament, with the women earning a share of the SAC regular-season title and the men placing second in the league. Frost compiled a 30-15 men's record and a 30-14 women's mark in his two seasons at Tusculum, with his men's squads going 22-4 in SAC play and the women compiling a 19-5 conference record. Between the men's and women's teams, Frost had a total of 15 All-Conference performers during his two seasons with the Pioneers. Frost was the 2023 SAC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year and was honored by the Tusculum athletic department with the Art Argauer Coach of the Year Award for the 2022-23 athletic season.
The last two summers, Frost has also worked as the tennis pro at the Asheville Racquet Club, the home of the Asheville men's and women's tennis programs.
"I would like to thank the Associate Athletic Director Aaron Bessey, Director of Athletics Janet Cone and the search committee for entrusting me to be the next Head Men's Tennis Coach at UNC Asheville," said Frost. "I am incredibly honored to lead this program and I believe that we have everything in place to be successful. I cannot wait to get to work as part of the Bulldog family to create champions both on and off the tennis court."
Prior to Tusculum, Frost was the assistant women's coach at the University of New Mexico. Prior to New Mexico, he was an assistant coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University and also the performance coach at the Great Britain Lawn Tennis Association. He was also previously involved on the professional circuit, both as a player and a hitting partner for players such as Novak Djokivic and former Women's Tennis Association World No. 1 player Simona Halep. He got his start in coaching as an assistant for his alma mater Drake University.
Frost played collegiately at Southern Miss for two seasons before transferring to Drake. As a player, he was a two-time Conference USA Player of the Month and a six-time Conference USA Player of the Week. At Drake, he was a nationally-ranked singles player and was also a member of two Missouri Valley regular season and conference tournament championship teams. He was a four-time All-Conference selection between two schools, and also excelled in the classroom being a two-time Conference USA academic medalist and being named to the Missouri Valley Conference Academic Honor Roll twice.
Frost currently resides in Johnson City with his wife Meredith. Meredith was a track and field athlete at Sewanee, where she holds the outdoor record for the 200-meter dash.
"Matt has been a contributor to success on the tennis court and in the classroom everywhere he has been," said Cone. "All of his experience, plus his familiarity with tennis in the area including the Asheville Racquet Club will be a great asset for our men's tennis program."
Frost comes to Asheville after two seasons as the head coach at Division II Tusculum University, where he had great success building both the men's and women's programs into contenders in the competitive South Atlantic Conference. Through two seasons, Frost helped the men's program become a mainstay in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national rankings while helping the women's program go from unranked to No. 36. He also had two individuals who earned their first national ITA singles rankings. Both years, both of his programs were recognized as ITA All-Academic Teams. He was also the SAC Coach of the Year on the women's side in 2023. Frost guided the Pioneer men's and women's teams to the NCAA Division II Tournament during the 2023 season, leading both teams to identical 17-7 overall records and 11-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. Both the Tusculum men's and women's teams finished as runner-up in the SAC Championship Tournament, with the women earning a share of the SAC regular-season title and the men placing second in the league. Frost compiled a 30-15 men's record and a 30-14 women's mark in his two seasons at Tusculum, with his men's squads going 22-4 in SAC play and the women compiling a 19-5 conference record. Between the men's and women's teams, Frost had a total of 15 All-Conference performers during his two seasons with the Pioneers. Frost was the 2023 SAC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year and was honored by the Tusculum athletic department with the Art Argauer Coach of the Year Award for the 2022-23 athletic season.
The last two summers, Frost has also worked as the tennis pro at the Asheville Racquet Club, the home of the Asheville men's and women's tennis programs.
"I would like to thank the Associate Athletic Director Aaron Bessey, Director of Athletics Janet Cone and the search committee for entrusting me to be the next Head Men's Tennis Coach at UNC Asheville," said Frost. "I am incredibly honored to lead this program and I believe that we have everything in place to be successful. I cannot wait to get to work as part of the Bulldog family to create champions both on and off the tennis court."
Prior to Tusculum, Frost was the assistant women's coach at the University of New Mexico. Prior to New Mexico, he was an assistant coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University and also the performance coach at the Great Britain Lawn Tennis Association. He was also previously involved on the professional circuit, both as a player and a hitting partner for players such as Novak Djokivic and former Women's Tennis Association World No. 1 player Simona Halep. He got his start in coaching as an assistant for his alma mater Drake University.
Frost played collegiately at Southern Miss for two seasons before transferring to Drake. As a player, he was a two-time Conference USA Player of the Month and a six-time Conference USA Player of the Week. At Drake, he was a nationally-ranked singles player and was also a member of two Missouri Valley regular season and conference tournament championship teams. He was a four-time All-Conference selection between two schools, and also excelled in the classroom being a two-time Conference USA academic medalist and being named to the Missouri Valley Conference Academic Honor Roll twice.
Frost currently resides in Johnson City with his wife Meredith. Meredith was a track and field athlete at Sewanee, where she holds the outdoor record for the 200-meter dash.