Entering his third year at the helm of the North Florida men's tennis program, Mark Finnegan has made an immediate impact on the Ospreys’ success.
The 2016 squad captured the program's first-ever NCAA berth after winning the Atlantic Sun tournament. The team was nationally-ranked for most of the season, topping out at No. 71. The doubles pair of Jack Findel-Hawkins and Yannick Zuern began the spring season as the No. 4 pair in the ITA Rankings and earned a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championship in Tulsa, Okla. Findel-Hawkins, the 2016 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, also earned his second straight spot in the NCAA Singles Championship. He finished the season ranked 123rd, while the duo was 45th. Under Finnegan's direction, the team defeated four nationally-ranked programs, including No. 47 Cornell on its home court.
In addition to Findel-Hawkins' first-team nod, sophomore Lasse Muscheites was the ASUN Tournament MVP, while also earning All-Conference first team and Academic All-Conference honors. Muscheites was a three-time player of the week and went undefeated in the No. 2 spot during conference action. Rookies Jonathan Deautriell and Sahil Deshmukh earned spots on the All-Freshman team, marking the fourth straight year for two Ospreys to earn the honors.
In his first two years, UNF has garnered much national attention from ITA rankings and played elite competition in some of the country’s top tournaments.
National attention during the 2014-15 season came in three ways. UNF was listed in the ITA Team Rankings for much of the entire spring season. The Ospreys peaked at No. 51 in the March 3 poll, which was the second-highest ranking in the program’s Division I history. Jack Findel-Hawkins was ranked in each ITA singles poll that was produced during 2014-15, and he was ultimately selected for the 2015 NCAA Singles Championships held in Waco, Texas. Findel-Hawkins ranked as high as No. 70 on February 10. Meanwhile, the doubles duo of Findel-Hawkins and Norbert Nemcsek found themselves in seven ITA Doubles Rankings throughout the year.
The Ospreys finished 2014-15 with a 17-7 overall record that included six victories over nationally-ranked foes. Four Ospreys earned post-season Atlantic Sun honors – Findel-Hawkins (First Team), Nemcsek (First Team), Alberto De Meo (All-Freshman) and Lasse Muscheites (All-Freshman).
From the start of the 2013-14 season, UNF had national attention with a No. 71 ranking in the first ITA national poll. The Ospreys were nationally ranked for the final seven ITA national polls, peaking at No. 67 on Apr. 8 and finishing at No. 72 in the final poll. UNF went 14-10 overall on the year and 6-0 in Atlantic Sun and was one of two undefeated teams in the A-Sun. Throughout the season, an Osprey was named A-Sun Player of the Week an astonishing eight times.
The Ospreys flourished in doubles competition with two pairs being nationally ranked throughout the season. Yannick Zuern and Caio Gomes ranked as high as No. 34 on Mar. 11, while the duo of Norbert Nemcsek and Jack Findel-Hawkins earned a bid to the NCAA Doubles Championships. Nemcsek and Findel-Hawkins pulled off an enormous upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, knocking off the top team in the country in No. 1 Yannkick Hanfmann and Ray Sarmiento of Southern California. Nemcsek and Findel-Hawkins finished the season ranked No. 48 in the ITA end of the year rankings.
Finnegan arrived at UNF following a five-year stint at Memphis, where he helped the Tigers become one of the Top 20 teams in the nation. He was an assistant coach at Memphis for his first four years before being elevated to associate head coach prior to the 2013 season. Finnegan was named ITA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013 and was also runner-up for ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2013. In addition, he was a two-time C-USA Assistant Coach of the Year.
Individuals also thrived under Finnegan in the 2013 season. Sophomore Connor Glennon was named 2013 C-USA Player of the Year, junior Johnny Grimal was the Outstanding Singles Player of the C-USA Championship and Joe Salisbury and David O’Hare were the Outstanding Doubles Team of the C-USA Championship.
In addition to responsibilities with the men’s program, Finnegan assisted with Memphis’ women’s tennis team. He helped the women’s program their first NCAA appearance in 2013 as well as a program-high ranking of No. 22 in 2013. Individually, Courtney Collins ranked as high a No. 20 in the ITA’s singles rankings.
Finnegan, who represented Ireland as a Junior Olympian, played Division I tennis at both Georgia Southern and Memphis. While at Georgia Southern, he was named the 2002 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, All-Conference and the team’s MVP.
Finnegan graduated from Memphis in 2004 with a degree in finance. He is married to the former Molly Smith and the couple has two sons, Kellum and Rory.
