Wherever Ron Smarr goes, success follows. In his ninth season with the Owls, he has brought the men's tennis program back to national prominence with four NCAA tournament appearances in the last five years as the 2004 squad advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for the first time. For his efforts Smarr was honored as the 2004 Intercollegiate Tennis Association national coach of the year while also garnering Western Athletic Conference coach of the year honors in 2003 and 2004.

A year ago, Smarr guided the Owls to their third-straight NCAA tournament appearance as they finished the year 15-10. Robert Searle made history, becoming the first Rice player to earn three NCAA singles bids after posting an 18-5 mark in the spring.

The 2003-04 season saw unprecedented success for the Rice tennis program, both for individual Owls and for the team as a whole. After a successful fall, the Owls blasted out of the chutes in dual action, winning their first 17 matches and rocketing up to fifth in the ITA rankings. Smarr's Owls then went on to win Rice's first conference title since 1972. Rice then defeated South Alabama and upset LSU in Baton Rouge, La., to advance to the NCAA round of 16 for the first time.

Richard and William Barker, after a perfect 20-0 doubles record in dual matches, entered the NCAA championships as the top seed, while William and Searle also garnered bids for the singles tournament. The Barker brothers earned all-America doubles honors for the second-straight year before repeating as the ITA's doubles team of the year. In singles, Searle upset the tournament's top seed in the first round to help cap the season for the Owls.

In 2003, along with the team bid, Smarr saw a trio of his pupils receive bids to the NCAA championships with William Barker becoming the first Owl to earn all-America honors in both singles and doubles in a single year. The Barkers advanced to the doubles semifinals while Searle joined his teammates in Athens, Ga. Smarr also guided the Barker brothers to Rice's first national men's indoor doubles championship in fall 2002.

In 35 years as a head coach, Smarr has posted 32 winning seasons. Coaching at four different institutions, Smarr has recorded an overall mark of 756-275 (.733). In Division I competition, Rice's head coach has a ledger of 655-261, winning more than 71 percent of his matches.

Smarr made an immediate impact on the program upon his arrival at Rice, guiding the Owls to a 16-9 record. He then led the men to a 17-9 overall record during the 1998-99 season, their best finish of the decade. Smarr also guided lettermen Shane Stone and Efe Ustundag to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA championships and a number-20 national doubles ranking.

Smarr came to Rice from Colorado, where he guided his Buffaloes to five top-three conference finishes in as many seasons. In 1993, he led the Buffs to the program's first Big Eight crown in men's tennis with a 24-7 record and was honored as the Region V and conference coach of the year. He received the same honors in 1996, when his team registered a 20-7 mark and was the league runner-up. In 10 seasons at Colorado, Smarr's men were 195-99.

The North Carolina native began his coaching career in his home state at Wingate Junior College. Four years under Smarr brought the Bulldogs two national championships and a third-place finish. Averaging 25 wins per season, the young head coach lost only 14 matches in his career at Wingate. In October 1998, Smarr was inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame.

From there, Smarr traveled south to take the head position at South Carolina, where he posted a 319-86 mark and recorded 13 straight winning seasons. In his last nine years with the Gamecocks, Smarr's men finished in the top 25 in the country eight times and received National Invitational Tournament bids in 1983 and 1984.

A two-time graduate of Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., Smarr received his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1965 and 1967. As a player, he captained the Mountaineers' team to the top four nationally, playing number one singles and doubles. He also lettered in basketball and wrestling during his college career and was inducted into the ASU Hall of Fame for his athletic achievements in 1997.

He and his wife, Becky, have three children (Taylor, Tressa and Jordan) and seven grandchildren (Taylor, Elizabeth, John, Maggie, Tate, Hanna and Annaliese).