West Valley bringing back women's tennis in 2018-19 after 30-year hiatus

West Valley women's tennis coach Lauren Hickey.

April 18, 2018

SARATOGA - Following a 30-year hiatus, West Valley College announces the return of the women's tennis program. With a fabulous 16-court facility, West Valley is looking to emerge as a major player on the tennis scene. John Vlahos, Dean of Health, Human Development, and Athletics, says "we are excited to see the return of the tennis program and look forward to competing in the competitive Coast Conference."

Leading the program will be Head Coach Lauren Hickey. Vlahos says "Lauren bring an impressive record of success, both as a coach and player, to West Valley College and is an ideal fit to start up our program."

Prior to coming to West Valley, Lauren was the head tennis coach at Foothill College from 2011-2018, where she was a four- time Coast Conference Coach of the Year and the 2014 ITA Coach of the Year for Community Colleges. Lauren began her coaching career at City College of San Francisco in 2008 and spent the 2010 season as an assistant coach at Santa Rosa Junior College.

As a player for Santa Rosa Junior College, she was ranked as high as No. 1 in the state for doubles and within the top 10 for singles. In her sophomore year, she was NorCal doubles champion and NorCal singles finalist. Alongside her twin sister, Kelly, they were twice finalists at the prestigious Ojai Valley Tournament. In both seasons at Santa Rosa, Lauren earned All-America honors. Following this success, she continued her tennis career as a member of the 2005-2007 women's tennis team at the University of San Francisco.

Hickey holds a master's degree in kinesiology from San Francisco State University, a bachelor's degree in sports and exercise science from the University of San Francisco, and an associate of arts degree in liberal arts from Santa Rosa Junior College.

(Matt Folsom, West Valley Athletics)