Emory University women’s tennis coach Amy Bryant has announced her retirement following an illustrious career with the Eagles that spanned nearly three decades. Bryant, who guided the team to seven national championships and 18 University Athletic Association championships during her legendary coaching tenure and was the first woman in NCAA history to win the national team championship as both a coach and player .
Bridget Harding, who has been a member of the coaching staff since the 2018-19 season, will handle head coaching duties on an interim basis.
Since taking over the head coaching role in 2000, Bryant elevated the Emory women’s tennis program into one of the premier tennis powerhouses not only in Division III but across all levels of collegiate tennis with her teams reaching unprecedented levels of success. In 23 seasons, Bryant’s teams compiled an overall record of 428-116, reaching the NCAA postseason in every season besides the COVID shortened 2020 campaign, advanced to 21 national quarterfinals, 18 national semifinals and 13 appearances in the national championship match, tied for the most by any program during that stretch.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities Emory Athletics has afforded me over the last 23 years,” Bryant said. “It was a privilege to work with such inspiring colleagues and incredible student-athletes. I will forever be Emory Women’s Tennis’ biggest fan and I look forward to cheering for Bridget as she leads the team to even more success in the future.”
A five-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Coach of the Year as well as the ITA National Coach of the Year in 2003, Bryant has overseen a Division III-leading six singles national champions (Mary Ellen Gordon in 2003 and 2004, Lorne McManigle in 2009, Gabrielle Clark in 2012 and 2014 and Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico in 2019) and five doubles national championships (Mary Ellen Gordon/Anusha Natarajan in 2001 and 2002, Mary Ellen Gordon/Jolyn Taylor in 2003 and 2004 and Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico/Katie Chang in 2021). Furthermore, Bryant has seen her players earn a total of 103 All-America honors, 13 conference Most Valuable Player awards, five NCAA postgraduate scholarships and seven Academic All-America selections.
No stranger to Emory, Bryant joined the coaching ranks following a tremendous undergraduate career with the Eagles where she became the first women’s tennis player in school history to earn All-America honors in both singles and doubles and captained the tennis team to the first-ever national championship in the history of the University in 1996.
In addition, Bryant was the runner-up in the NCAA national singles championship her junior season and teamed up to reach the semifinals of the NCAA doubles championship her senior year. At the time of her graduation, Bryant ranked fifth on the school’s all-time list with 76 career singles victories and fifth in career double victories with 66. She compiled a 24-4 singles record her junior season and was selected the conference’s Most Valuable Player her senior year. All four years, Bryant made the All-UAA First Team in singles and doubles and was part of four UAA championship teams.
Furthermore, she was a standout on the Eagles’ soccer team where she twice made the All-Region team across her three seasons, graduating at the time with the school record for career goals and points. She was a two-time female winner of the school’s Bridges Award as its outstanding all-around athlete and won the McCord Award her junior year for outstanding individual athletic achievement.
Bryant was inducted into the Emory Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and currently resides in the Atlanta area with her husband, Wes, and sons, Kimball and Miles.