A proven collegiate coach with years of experience as a tennis professional, Doug Elly has been named the head coach of Berry College's men's and women's tennis programs for the 2023-2024 season.
In just his second season at the helm, Elly coached six total All-SAA performers (three men and three women) and led the women's team to it's second straight SAA Runner-Up finish in a row.
During his first season he led the women's team to an SAA second place finish and put the men's team in the quarterfinals. Two players from each team earned All-SAA accolades and seven student-athletes received honors as CSC Academic All-District players.
Elly joins the Vikings after a successful stint with the William Jewell College, an NCAA Division II program. The 2023 season yielded some of the best results in recent history for the school. The men's program qualified for postseason play for the first time in 10 years, reaching the Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinal round. Ugnicus Bickauskis earned First Team All-GLVC accolades, becoming the first Cardinal to earn First Team All-GLVC honors in back-to-back years since the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
The women's program at William Jewell had 17 wins across the final two seasons Elly was at the helm, a steep improvement over his first three campaigns. The 2022 season saw the Cardinals have their highest win total since 2015.
For nearly 30 years, Elly has served either as a coach or tennis pro at clubs in Missouri and Florida. His longest stop as a tennis pro was at Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield, Mo., from 1995-2017.
Elly has also been a successful professional tennis player. He played regularly on the professional tennis tour from 1988-91. He was ranked No. 3 nationally in Men's 45 Singles in 2008. He has previously trained with former World No. 1-ranked players and major championship winners Rod Laver, Pancho Segura, and Bobby Riggs.
Collegiately, Elly played at Southwest Missouri State University, now known as Missouri State University. He played both No. 1 singles and doubles at the NCAA D-I level and was the conference's Player of the Year.
